Beacons
by KingWykkyd57
Summary: The world of Pokemon, now suddenly infested by mysterious creatures called Grimm. To combat this new threat, an elite form of pokemon trainers is created: The Hunters, beacons of hope for the world of Remnant. And their newest recruit is Jaune Arc, who along with his new friends and their Pokemon might be the world's only hope.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone, and welcome to the story! I hope you guys enjoy it, I had this idea circling in my head for over a year now, but for some reason I never really got around to it. But here it is! So sit back, relax, and have fun!**

 **...**

 _"Hello, my name is Professor Ozpin, and welcome to the world of pokemon! As you know, we live with mysterious creatures called pokemon, each with their own fantastic and untapped powers. However, recently a strange phenomenon has taken hold of our beloved companions. Shortly after the great war, the first "grimm" made itself known. Yes, I'm sure that if you're watching this, you must already know about the grimm threat: Pokemon that have been infected by so much of the world's negativity that they've transformed into feral beasts. These pokemon are unpredictable and dangerous, and already we've lost too many great trainers to them. They are more powerful than their unaffected counterparts, and if you were to encounter one your chances of survival are often too low._

 _"That is where we come in: the huntsmen and huntresses of Remnant. We alone protect the people against this new threat, we alone are capable of facing them in battle. We are the protectors of the people, we are the only ones who can purge the grimm threat. However, we also fund research for them as well. At the end of the day, they're still pokemon, and if we can find a way to save them from their fate it would certainly make our task much easier._

 _"We hear at Beacon Academy welcome you into our ranks, should you prove yourself to us. Due to the threat of these grimm pokemon, we can only accept the best of the best, and anyone less shall not be permitted. Good luck, future hunters, it is up to you to take the first step to a brighter future for us all."_

The promotional video ended, the screen flickered to black as Jaune Arc leaned back and let out a long breath he had no idea he was holding in. He ran a hand through his blonde hair before breaking into a grin. He stood up and pumped his fist into the air, exclaiming, "I'll become the greatest hunter in Remnant, I swear it!"

Since he was young Jaune had grown up on the stories of the hunters, the protectors of Remnant who gave their lives to serving the people. His father had been one himself, and Jaune would always bounce on his knee, demanding one more tale of heroism from the man he looked up to. Since those days, Jaune had never given up on his dream...he had to become a huntsman, he _had_ to.

For his father's memory...

Jaune sighed and sat back down in his chair, resting his elbows against the desk as he stared at the blank screen in front of him. If he could become a huntsman, it would also result in more than enough money to support the family. Ever since his father died, his mother had worked harder than anyone should have to support him and his seven sisters. That's right, _seven_ sisters! Jaune knew that if he could make it into the world of hunters, his family wouldn't have the hard life anymore, they could live the rest of their days in comfort.

 _"Corp?"_

Jaune hummed and glanced down, smiling at what he saw. The crustacean was a birthday gift from his father right before he had died, and throughout the years it had remained his best friend and faithful companion through thick and thin.

"Hey, Corphish," he greeted, reaching down to lift up the small red pokemon. "How are ya, buddy?"

 _"Corphish!"_ the little lobster cheered, raising its pincers and bouncing in its trainer's lap.

Jaune chuckled and scratched underneath Corphish's chin, before replaying Beacon's promotional video. Corphish turned around as Professor Ozpin began his speech, and settled down comfortably in Jaune's lap. Jaune wrapped his arms around his pokemon and leaned in close to whisper, "Just you wait, Corphish...Someday, that's going to be us!"

 _"Corphish!"_

"Jaaaaaauuunnne!" an obnoxious whine came from downstairs. "Mom made dinner, get your butt down here!"

Jaune rolled his eyes and paused the video, setting down Corphish before standing up and opening his bedroom door. "Okay, I'll be right down!" he answered before turning back to the small lobster. "Beacon's entry exam is only a month away, Corphish," he reminded him. "If I want to be a huntsman, I'll have to tell mom tonight. Wish me luck!" Without waiting for a response, Jaune ducked out of his room and shut the door behind him, leaving Corphish by itself.

 _"Corp..."_ Corphish sighed and scuttled over to Jaune's bed, taking a deep breath before jumping up with all its energy. Its pincers latched onto its trainer's blankets, but as it tried pulling itself up the blankets slipped off them bed, making Corphish yelp in surprise as it dropped to the ground, the blankets piling on top of it and leaving it trapped.

 _"Corp..."_ it groaned.

...

"Glaceon, quick attack!"

"Electivire, counter with discharge!"

The ice type bolted towards its opponent, jumping from side to side to avoid the random bursts of electricity. It was close now, it could feel victory in its paws. It jumped up to attack the large electric type, but what happened next shocked it to its core.

"Electivire, fire punch!"

"Glaceon, dodge it!"

Glaceon heard its trainer's command, but it was too late. The blazing fist connected with its ribs, knocking the breath out of it as it was sent flying away. _"GLAAAAA!"_ it cried as it braced for impact, slamming against the wall. Breathing heavily, it tried standing up, but its shaking legs collapsed underneath it. _"Gla...ceon..."_ it weakly whined.

Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Pokemon Company, gasped and rushed to her pokemon's aid. "Glaceon!" she cried, gently picking up her beloved pokemon. "Are you alright?!"

Glaceon slowly nodded, attempting to smile at its trainer. It failed and had a coughing fit, and Weiss took a deep breath and pulled out the ice type's pokeball. "Here, you deserve a nice, long rest," she whispered gently, returning it. She sighed and stood up, clipping the pokeball to her skirt.

There was a clapping behind her. "Very good, Miss Schnee," a smooth voice complimented. "You did much better than our last lesson. However, you were a bit to hasty towards the end. When your Glaceon took the thunder punch powered by electric terrain, you should've stayed at a distance instead of trying to close in with a final attack."

Weiss nodded and turned towards her instructor. The man was tall and lanky, and his most well known feature was the large mustache that partially covered his mouth. His hair was beginning to grey, and his eyes held much wisdom and intelligence. "Yes, Mr. Watts," Weiss acknowledged. "I'll be more careful next time."

Arthur Watts sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "See to it that you will, Miss Schnee," he advised coldly. "Beacon Academy only accepts the best of the best, and if you wish to escape your father's thumb then you're battling skills will need to be top notch. Unless you are able to defeat me you will never leave Atlas."

'You're a member of the Atlas Elite Four,' she wanted to shoot back, but she bit her tongue and nodded. She knew what Watts spoke of was true, she had to be the best if she wished to attend Beacon. "You're right," she agreed, "thank you, Mr. Watts."

"You can thank me when you beat me, Miss Schnee," Watts said as he returned Electivire to its pokeball. "Your sister cannot protect you forever, that's why she asked me to train you. And although you've improved much faster than I would've imagined, you still have one fatal flaw: you allow emotions to cloud your judgement."

Weiss tilted her head. "My...emotions?" she repeated. "Mr. Watts, I'm afraid I don't understand."

Watts chuckled and shook his head. "The fact you're not even aware of it makes it much worse, you know," he pointed out. "Your anger towards your father, your desire to be set free from your cage, both of those things keep you from having a cool head, they keep you from having a winning strategy, they keep you from victory." He stepped towards the heiress, tapping the side of his head with one long finger. "You must be cold, calculating, consider all angles instead of focusing one what's in front of you. That's how your sister earned her position among the Elite Four, and that is how you must battle if you wish to attend Beacon. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Miss Schnee?"

"I...I think I do," Weiss answered as best as she could.

Watts stared at her for a long moment before sighing. "Well, I suppose that's better than nothing," he muttered before waving Weiss away. "That will be all for today, you are free to go."

Weiss nodded and hurried out of the courtyard, feeling Watt's eyes burning at the back of her skull. She shivered and quickened her pace, jogging back to her family's grand estate.

The Schnee Pokemon Company: the leading corporation of technology. Ranging from potions to pokeballs to projects even Weiss wasn't aware of, the SPC dedicated themselves to the advancement of pokemon and their trainers. And sitting at the very top of it all was her father, Jacques Schnee, a tyrant in his own right. Having married into the family only for the company, he cared little for them except for raising Weiss as his heir. Ever since Winter left to pursue her career as a pokemon trainer, Jacques needed someone to take his place when the time came. Weiss had little say in the matter, but her position as heiress allowed her to see the company from a whole new light, and she realized what a hellhole her father had created.

The workers were underpaid, they were often stationed in dangerous areas teeming with grimm, and no one cared. They were expendable, nothing more than rattata in her father's eyes, and she couldn't stand for it. Perhaps right now she couldn't do anything, but she had vowed to improve condition the moment she inherited the company. And to prove herself to the people, she vowed to become a huntress, a protector. Her father wasn't keen on the idea, but eventually relented on the condition that Weiss would attend Atlas Academy. However, Weiss had seen the military-like way Atlas trained its hunters, and she immediately looked for any other option. Cue in Beacon Academy in the Vale region, who were much less strict and much more open, which Weiss could appreciate. Imagine, the heiress of the SPC fighting to protect the people in a region not her own, that alone would prove to the population that she wasn't anything like her father, that she could change the SPC for the better.

Winter would be proud of her.

Weiss sighed as she entered her family's large mansion, taking note of the emptiness of it all. A perfect metaphor for the love between her family, she thought.

A sudden barking caught her attention, and Weiss broke into a grin and dropped to her knees, embracing the medium sized dog that nearly tackled her. "Hello, Herdier!" she greeted cheerfully, running her fingers through the pokemon's fur as it happily licked her face. "Where's Klein?"

"Herdier, please don't dirty up the young mistress," a slightly overweight man lightly scolded, appearing from a far off corner.

Weiss stood up and grinned. "You know I don't mind when it's Herdier, Klein," she reminded the old butler.

Klein chuckled and whistled over for his pokemon. The loyal dog pokemon barked and hurried to its trainer's side, wagging its tail happily. "Yes, yes, I know," he replied with a chuckle. "But we both know what your father thinks of it and I would rather keep my job, Miss Schnee." He motioned for her to follow him. "Come join me in the kitchen, I'll make us both some hot coffee."

Weiss nodded and followed the family butler, and Herdier joined her side and nuzzled its head against her leg. The heiress giggled and softly pet the dog's head.

"How was your lesson today, Miss Schnee?" Klein asked once they entered the kitchen, immediately setting to work on the coffee.

Weiss sighed and glanced down at Glaceon's pokeball. "I lost again," she answered. "Mr. Watts was quick to scold me for it too."

Klein scoffed. "That man's as good of a teacher as I am a gymnast." he jested. "I wouldn't let his words get to you, Miss Schnee."

"But he was right to scold me," Weiss argued softly, leaning against the counter top. "I know why I couldn't beat him, and until I can I'll never be able to attend Beacon."

"Well I have good faith in you," Klein offered, setting down a mug of hot coffee by the young mistress's side. "I know you'll be attending Beacon, you're an excellent trainer Miss Schnee."

"Thank you, Klein," Weiss said gratefully, smiling and sipping at her coffee.

'I wonder what Beacon will be like,' she thought, and she felt a swell of excitement for what was to come.

...

"Absolutely not, young man!"

Jaune winced at his mother's tone, and shrank back a little. "But Mom-"

"But _nothing,_ Jaune!" his mother hissed. "I refuse to let you go out and risk your life for some foolhardy dream! You're going to get killed out there!"

"But it's what I want to do!" Jaune argued. "Mom, don't you see? If I can make it, we'll be set for life! Can't you see I'm doing this for us? We won't have to worry anymore!"

"I'm not going to lose my son so soon after losing my husband!" his mother cried out, her eyes filling with tears. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Jaune, please...don't worry about me, I'm doing fine. I don't want you going into the world with these foolish dreams of heroism that got your father killed. You're not ready, Jaune, so please stop it..."

Jaune clenched his fists. "Mom..."

"Besides," his mother continued. "Beacon only accepts the best of the best! Prodigees, Jaune! You're not even an official trainer, what hope do you have of standing with those kids?"

"I..." Jaune hadn't considered that before, and he found himself struggling to find an answer. "I...I have to at least try, Mom..."

"No, no you don't." His mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "No more talk of hunters, Jaune. Go to bed."

"But-" Jaune was cut off by his mother's stern glare. "...yes, Mom..." he finally relented, exiting the kitchen and heading back upstairs to his room.

When Jaune shut the door behind him, he slammed his fists into the wall. "Dammit!" he hissed. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"

 _"Corp?"_ Corphish's concerned cry came from underneath a pile of blankets. Jaune sighed and helped his pokemon out of the trap, setting it down on his bed. The blonde sat down next to his pokemon, staring down at his feet. _"Corphish?"_ the lobster asked, nudging its trainer's arm.

"What are we going to do, Corphish?" Jaune wondered, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Mom says no, but are we just supposed to give up like that?"

Corphish thought about it for a moment, before shaking its head.

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

It was a tough question to answer, but as Corphish glanced around the room its eyes caught sight of something. _"Corp Corphish!"_ it cried, pointing its pincer forward. Jaune glanced up and saw the window his pokemon was pointing at. The blonde was confused for a couple of moments, but the lobster's meaning struck him, and his eyes widened.

"You want us to run away?!" he gasped.

Corphish nodded.

Jaune stood up and shook his head. "W-We can't, Corphish! Mom would-"

He froze as he locked eyes with Corphish, the two stared at each other for a long moment as understanding passed between them. Finally, Jaune nodded slowly. "You're right," he breathed out, "this is the only way we can do this. I know Mom would be upset, but once she sees how much this can help her..."

Jaune suddenly jumped into action, grabbing his backpack and stuffing his clothes from the floor into it. Corphish cried out and pointed at Jaune's jar of lien, and the blonde quickly nodded his thank as he opened it and filled his pockets with the money. Finally he reached for Corphish's lure ball, the one his father caught him in, and returned the pokemon into it. Clipping the ball to his belt, he quickly opened his window and glanced at the large tree branch a few feet away.

'I'm sorry, Mom,' he thought. 'But this is for us!' Taking a deep breath, he leaped out of his room and reached for the branch...

...only to land promptly on his face.

...

 **And that's a wrap! So what did you think? The early chapters are mostly gonna be set up, so sorry if you came in expecting a lot of action and didn't get that. Also, for those who might be wondering why Jaune has a Corphish...why not have a Corphish? We could all use a little Corphish in our lives, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, don't forget to review (no seriously guys pls review)! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	2. Chapter 2

***gasp* A second chapter so soon? Why yes, dear readers, that's right! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story!**

 **...**

A friggin blizzard...Today just wasn't Qrow's day, was it? He certainly didn't think so! The drunkard mumbled underneath his breath and reached inside his winter coat, pulling out a silver flask. He took a quick swig from it and placed it back inside his coat, afterwards wrapping it around himself to keep himself from shivering.

Blizzards were rare in the Mistral region. Sure, you had the occasional snowfall up in the high mountains, but other than that: nothing. When the village had warned him of the heavy snowfall, he almost didn't listen to them. A blizzard in Mistral was like rain in Vacuo! The two just didn't go together.

"Bloody hell..." he hissed through chattering teeth. The blizzard was strong enough to kill a man, and Qrow was certain that if he were anyone else he would be dead within minutes. But the bandits had hardened him well, he had a stronger will to live than most others. The cold was biting through his coat, which offered no comfort from the burning freeze.

Whatever the hell this was, it wasn't natural, that much was for sure. Something was causing this, and Qrow knew he had to find it before it was too late. The drunkard reached for one of three pokeballs clipped to his belt, but stopped. After a moment passed, he reached for a different one instead. While Honchkrow was a good scout in most conditions, the blizzard would do it more harm than good, and no way was Qrow losing his favorite 'mon. Instead he pulled out a different pokeball and tossed it into the air. A bipedal, humanoid pokemon landed in the snow, crouched down and ready for action.

It had an appearance similar to that of Mistral's ancient samurai warriors, its body covered in deadly shards of steel that could pierce through the toughest of hides. The pokemon rose to its feet and faced its trainer, slamming one hand over its chest. _"Sharp!"_ it hissed.

"Bisharp, find the source of this blizzard," Qrow commanded, pointing over his pokemon's shoulder. "But whatever you do, _don't_ engage it." He narrowed his eyes, locking them with Bisharp's own.

The Bisharp was a stubborn one that lived and breathed for battle, so to hear that it couldn't face off against the mysterious threat made its blood boil. However, it forced itself to nod. _"Bisharp!"_ it cried out, before turning around and sprinting away. Qrow stared after it and sighed, grunting as he sat down in the snow. He reached for another pokeball and released the pokemon inside it, immediately sighing in relief as a feeling of warmth surrounded him.

 _"...Mag...Cargo..?"_

The pokemon had originally been a gift from Tai when it was a slugma, apparently as some sort of joke. However, Qrow doubted that his best friend knew just how useful the lava snail would prove to be to him. "Eat your damn heart out, Tai," Qrow murmured as he scooted closer to the snail.

Speaking of Tai, Qrow couldn't help but wonder how the family back home was doing. He hadn't seen them in a few months, and he was beginning to miss the feeling of his two nieces pestering him. Well, maybe not completely, but the thought was sort of nice. The drunkard could only hope Tai was doing well, the man's depressive episodes came and went with little to no warning. It had always been like that since Summer died, and Qrow hoped that Tai was at least holding it together somewhat. His daughters certainly needed a good father in their lives.

Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter his younger niece, Ruby, had written to him. It was about a week old, but reading it still gave Qrow a sense of security.

Apparently Tai's gym was still doing okay, which was always good. Since Summer's death that gym had been Tai's life... According to Ruby's letter, Yang was getting ready to apply to Beacon Academy. The drunkard instinctively had mixed feelings about the matter. On one hand, great! Yang was a strong trainer and the daughter of one of Vale's best gym leaders, no doubt she would make an outstanding huntress. But on the other hand...

Images of Summer's corpse flashed by his eyes, as well as images of the abandonment of his sister, Raven.

He just hoped Yang wouldn't stray down the wrong path.

 _"...Cargo?"_ Magcargo sensed its trainer's pondering, and looked at him with curious eyes. Qrow smiled softly and shrugged.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," he assured the fire snail. "Just ignore me."

Magcargo nodded, but scooted just a tad closer to its trainer, offering what little comfort it could. Qrow grunted his thanks and gazed through the blizzard, awaiting Bisharp's return. He sighed and closed his eyes to keep the blizzard from stinging them, wrapping his coat even tighter around himself.

'I hate snow.' he thought to himself. 'Hate it, hate it, hate it.'

He could suddenly make out a figure approaching from the distance, and Qrow quickly stood up. "Bisharp?" he called out.

The figure was limping towards him, and indeed it was Bisharp. The pokemon was dragging one of its legs through the snow, one eye was closed completely shut and some of its armor appeared to be dented. Qrow's eyes widened and he hurried to his injured pokemon's side, catching it right as it collapsed. "Bisharp! Are you alright?" he hissed.

Bisharp weakly nodded, looking away in shame.

Qrow frowned. "You fought it, didn't you?"

The blade covered pokemon nodded again. _"Bi...Sharp.."_ it confirmed.

Qrow sighed and shook his head. "Which way?" he questioned it.

Bisharp rose one of its shaking arms, pointing in the direction it had first ran off to. Then it lowered its arm to the ground, drawing something into the snow. Qrow had to squint his eyes to see it, and his frown turned even more bitter. "A cave, huh?" he muttered, rubbing his chin. Nodding, he pulled out Bisharp's pokeball and lightly tapped it against its forehead. "Thanks, you were a great help." Bisharp managed a weak nod before it was sucked back into the safety of its pokeball.

Qrow stood up and returned Magcargo to its pokeball as well, and moved through the heavy snow as fast as he could. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could go back to a warm fire place and collect his pay from the villagers.

They probably thought he was long dead already.

"I'm still kicking, you bastards!" he shouted.

The cave came into plain view soon enough, and as soon as it appeared the blizzard picked up its intensity, nearly throwing Qrow off of his feet. Qrow groaned and forced himself against the powerful winds, entering the cave at a torkoal's pace. 'Whatever the hell is causing this, it's definitely in here!' he thought.

He could feel his fingers go entirely numb, and his lips were a dreadful shade of blue. He felt like his toes were about to fall off and he could not stop shivering, but he forced himself to continue deeper into the cave. He could hardly breathe with the cold winds forcing themselves inside his throat every time he inhaled, and as he slowly crept ever closer to the source his vision was starting to blur.

There was only one possible explanation for this: he was dealing with a grimm. And one hell of a powerful one, at that. The cave soon expanded, leading into a large cavern that definitely could house a grimm. And there it was, right in front of him.

"Abomasnow," he hissed. "It just had to be an abomasnow!"

The abomasnow wasn't like any ordinary member of its species. Its fur was covered in an oily black substance that oozed off of it, melting the snow it touched. Its bones jutted grotesquely from its joints, covered in blood from piercing through the skin. Its eyes were a blazing red like hot coals, hidden behind the mysterious skull mask all grimm somehow possessed.

No matter how many grimm Qrow encountered, each one made him feel sick to his stomach. All of them were repulsive and rather hard to look at, but most of all Qrow felt pity. They were once ordinary pokemon after all, but the world's constant negativity drove them to this state. As long as the world remained as cruel as it was, there was no saving these creatures from their fate worse than death.

The abomasnow finally noticed the huntsman and roared, the blizzard whipping around its black body. Qrow braced himself and managed to keep himself from flying away, and he reached for Magcargo's pokeball and released it.

"Magcargo, ancient power!" he cried over the howling wind. Magcargo summoned a horde of floating stones, hurling them towards the abomasnow. The grimm took the attack head on, swiping some of the rocks away with a powerful wood hammer. However, the last stone slammed against its head, causing it to snarl in pain. It immediately countered by summoning razor sharp shards of ice, flinging them at Magcargo at blinding speed.

"Protect!" Qrow ordered, and the fire snail quickly summoned a shield to repel the grimm's attacks. The ice shards scraped off the shield, one of them hurling towards Qrow and slicing open his arm. Qrow hissed and looked down at his wound, grimacing. He heard the abomasnow thunder towards him, and thinking quickly he called out, "Use stealth rock!"

In an instant, floating, pointed stones circled around Abomasnow, and as it tried barreling through the stones dug deeply into its flesh, forcing it to retreat. Now that it was trapped, Qrow grinned and saw an opening. "Finish it off with lava plume!"

 _"MagCAR-GOOOO!"_ the fire snail cried out as a wave of lava washed over Abomasnow, its howls of agony ringing through Qrow's , as the lava disappeared, Qrow was shocked to see that the grimm was still standing!

"W-What?!"

Suddenly the abomasnow roared and slammed its foot into the ground, making the whole cave shake. 'E-Earthquake?!' the huntsman realized. 'But how?!'

Magcargo got the worst of it, being flung into the air and landing with a large thud. _"C-Cargo..."_ it moaned before fainting.

"Dammit!" Qrow cursed, returning Magcargo to its pokeball. "Now what?!"

He couldn't rely on the injured Bisharp to take down the grimm, which meant there was only one option left. Sighing, Qrow reached for his final pokemon and released it. "Go, Honchkrow!"

The bird pokemon cawed loudly as it was released, but it was immediately buffeted by the blizzard. It nearly fell to the ground but forced itself to stay airborne, beating its wings as hard and as fast as it could.

'That lava plume must've done some heavy damage to it,' Qrow analyzed, 'which means Honchkrow just needs one good shot. We only have one chance!'

"Honchkrow, aerial ace!"

Honchkrow cawed once more and dove towards the abomasnow, ready to attack. The abomasnow countered with another ice shard attack, the tiny ice blades flying after the bird pokemon. Honchkrow swooped between them, one managing to clip its wings. Honchkrow fumbled but kept going, and as it ducked through the stealth rock it slashed its wings through the grimm's hide, oily blood splashing out.

"Finish it with shadow ball!"

Honchkrow summoned a ball of dark shadows at its feet, the attack slowing growing bigger as it raced to the front of Abomasnow's face. _"Honch..."_ It reeled back, before flinging the shadow ball as hard as it could at the grimm. _"KROW!"_

The attack exploded against the abomasnow, and it staggered back before collapsing onto its back with a groan. Qrow held his breath as he waited for the abomasnow to get up, but instead it began to waste away into ash, and the blizzard disappeared along with it.

AS Qrow returned his pokemon to its pokeball, he took a few steps towards where the abomasnow once stood and sighed. No matter how many grimm he encountered, it always hurt to have to put them down. They didn't deserve their fate, they had no choice in the matter. But for now, death was the only way to save the creatures, and that's what hurt most of all.

There was something...strange about this particular grimm though. It used earthquake, a move Abomasnow couldn't learn naturally.

Someone had to have taught it that move. But how could a wild grimm get its hands on a move its species couldn't learn by nature? Sure, it was entirely possible the abomasnow was an abandoned pokemon in a previous life, but Qrow had a sinking feeling that wasn't the case.

"Oz is gonna want to hear about this," he muttered to himself.

What a day...

...

The Vale arena grounds was the area hosting the qualification exams for those hoping to apply at Beacon. The grounds held numerous small battlefields, allowing it to host many pokemon battles at once. The rules were simple: to qualify to enter Beacon, you needed to defeat three other opponents. Once your task was complete, you were allowed to attend Beacon's opening day, afterwords you were required to take the mysterious entrance exam to keep your spot in the school.

A simple system, really; it easily weeded out the weaker trainers, leaving the victors with the spoils. The second exam them weeded out those weak trainers, leaving quite literally the best of the best.

Yang was fairly confident she would do a banging good job. She eyed the crowd around her, a smirk tugging at her lips. 'Easy pickings,' she thought as her hand wrapped around the pokeball clipped to her waist. 'Infernape and I are gonna have a field day!'

"Yaaaaaang," a high pitched voice whined behind her. "How long are you gonna stand there? You're gonna be late for your battle!"

The bombshell blonde turned around and chuckled at the sight of her little sister glaring cutely at her. "Easy there, Rubes," she assured, holding her hands up. "There's no rush! The battle's aren't going to go anywhere!"

"But Yang!" her little sister, Ruby, growled, pointing at her scroll. "Your match starts in _five minutes!_ If you don't hurry you're not gonna make it into Beacon!"

Yang sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fiiiine," she groaned. "But these guys better prove to be a challenge to Infernape and I, it ain't fun winning all the time!" She began walking away, Ruby following at her heels.

"You and Infernape and gonna smash it!" Ruby cheered, pumping her fist into the air. "There's no way the two of you could lose!"

"Thanks for the confidence boost, Ruby," Yang laughed as she ruffled her little sister's hair. "Infernape is just itching for a battle, y'know, it's been too long since he's last had one."

"I know!" Ruby agreed. "It's so cool that you're gonna attend Beacon!"

Yang smiled. "Give it two years and you'll be here too you know."

Ruby suddenly looked embarrassed, and she glanced away sheepishly. "You sure?" she asked.

Yang nodded confidentally. "Of course!" she assured. "Zorua may be young, but she's not too shabby in a tussle. And...you have Summer's pokemon, after all."

Ruby's hand went down to her belt, grabbing hold of the ultra ball clipped to her waist. "Yeah..." she murmured. Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped, slapping her hands over her cheeks. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot!" She began scooting away. "Sorry, Yang, but I gotta go!"

Yang tilted her head curiously. "You're not gonna stay and watch?" she wondered.

Ruby shook her head. "I'd love to, but I gotta get to the new comic book store before it gets too crowded!" she hastily explained.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Ruby, comic book stores are never crowded."

"You don't know that!" her younger sister squeaked before quickly hugging the buxom blonde. "Bye, I love you, good luck!" Without waiting for a response she zipped away faster than a girl her age honestly should have. Yang stared after her little sister, before shaking her head with a chuckle.

"Never change, Ruby," she muttered before heading off towards her designated battlefield.

She reached her battlefield quickly enough, and was right about to enter when someone tapped her shoulder.

"E-Excuse me," someone said nervously. "Can you tell me where battlefield B-13 is?"

Yang turned around and looked the boy up and down. Shaggy blonde hairy, tall a scrawny, not much to look at if she was being perfectly honest. She liked to believe she was a good judge of character, and from what she could tell the kid didn't belong in a place like this. Yang sighed and pointed towards her left. "Keep heading that way and you should reach it in no time," she directed him.

The boy grinned weakly and nodded. "Thanks," he said, before extending his hand. "I'm Jaune, by the way."

Yang smirked and grasped the boy's hand, shaking it firmly. "Yang," she introduced herself. She glanced down and noticed the little red lobster at Jaune's feet. "Cute Corphish you have there," she complimented.

"Thanks!" Jaune beamed, reaching down and stroking the top of Corphish's head. "He's been my best friend for years!"

Yang smiled and nodded. "Always nice making best friends with pokemon, ain't it?" She raised an eyebrow. "Though if you're really gonna battle here, I don't think a little cup pokemon is your best bet..."

"Um..." Jaune looked away awkwardly. "Actually...Corphish is my only pokemon."

Yang's eyes widened and she coughed into her fist awkwardly. "Then, uh...no offense Jaune, but I don't think you're going to make it very far here..."

Jaune faltered for a second but quickly shrugged. "I...I never know unless I try, right?" he proposed.

Yang half-nodded. "Well, miracles happen," she said, before punching the boy's shoulder lightly. "I guess we'll find out if I see you at Beacon, huh?"

"Yeah!" Jaune grinned before walking away, waving over his shoulder. "See you there!"

Yang waved back, and the moment Jaune disappeared into the crowd she shook her head and sighed. "Poor guy isn't gonna last five minutes," she murmured.

...

"B-11, B-12, and...B-13." Jaune counted as he stopped in front of the entrance to his designated battlefield. He stared at it and gulped, feeling himself beginning to sweat and shake. However, he felt Corphish lightly tap at his leg, and he slowly began to relax.

It had been a hard month, and without Corphish Jaune was certain he wouldn't have made it. Many nights were spent being cold and hungry, and there were many times he considered giving up and returning home, but Corphish's cheeriness always kept him going, and here the two of them were, one step away from their dream.

"Are you ready, Corphish?" Jaune asked his loyal pokemon.

 _"Corphish!"_ the lobster nodded in determination.

The two entered the battlefield, where their opponent was already waiting for them. He was a tall and broadly built young man, and he sneered as Jaune faced him. "About time you showed up!" he growled. "I was getting tired of waiting!"

"...I got a little lost," Jaune weakly explained.

"Well it doesn't matter, you're going to lose either way!" His opponent jabbed a thumb against his chest and exclaimed, "My name is Cardin Winchester, and I'm gonna be the best damn hunter in Beacon! And there's no way a little small fry like you or your stupid crab can get in the way of that!" He reached for a pokeball and tossed it into the air.

"Go! Pidgeot!"

...

 **Ooooooh boy! Cardin's here! Can Jaune prevail against all odds? Stay tuned and find out! Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Holidays, everyone! Here I am with another chapter for you all, so please enjoy!**

 **...**

It wasn't easy being a celebrity.

Pyrrha Nikos could feel everyone's eyes locking onto her as she entered the arenas, and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to look smaller, less noticeable. It did nothing to stop the stares and whispers. "What's she doing here?" they asked among themselves, no doubt surprised that the youngest champion in the Mistral region's pokemon league was attending Beacon Academy's qualification exams. She could hear all their whispering as she approached her arena, A-01. She was well aware of the crowd forming behind her that was slowly following her to her destination, and Pyrrha wondered whether she should stop and greet them through another forced grin.

However, before she could come to a decision a notpad was suddenly thrust in her face.

"Miss Nikos, can I have your autograph?!" an eccentric young girl asked. "I am, like, your _biggest_ fan!"

"O-Oh..." Pyrrha stuttered, awkwardly grabbing the notepad and paper. "O-Of course."

"Miss Nikos!" a young man called out after she signed the girl's paper. "Mind answering a few questions for my blog?"

Pyrrha blinked as her personal space was once again invaded. "O-Of course!" she answered through a false, practiced cheer.

"Mind telling me why the esteemed champion of Mistral is attending the qualifications for Beacon Academy?" the young man questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I..." Pyrrha rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess it all boils down to wanting to simply give back to the people. Sure, being a champion has its merits, but I want to help others, and the grimm are still pokemon. If possible, I want to find a way to save them."

The man nodded and jotted something down on his scroll. "Interesting..." he muttered, before ducking away like he had never been there.

The crowd that had formed behind Pyrrha had apparently taken the two intruders as some sort of invitation to swarm her, and before the champion realized what was going on she was surrounded by a multitude of fans, their clamoring words jumbling together to form a troublesome din that gave her a headache. Pyrrha tried backing away, but her exit was blocked by more fans appearing out of the blue.

"Miss Nikos, can you sign my pokeball?!"

"Pyrrha Nikos, pet my growlithe!"

"I'd like to ask you some questions, Miss Nikos!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"An actual pokemon league champion, OMIGOSH!"

"PYRRHA MARRY ME!"

"That is quite ENOUGH!"

The newest voice broke through the din, silencing everyone as they turned around to see who had interrupted them. The people parted to reveal a fiar skinned, petite girl with snow white hair and clothing stomping towards Pyrrha, who gulped. The girl grabbed Pyrrha's arm and glared at everyone in the crowd. "Haven't any of you heard of personal space?" she hissed. "Stop scaring her and get out!" She shooed them away, and the crowd murmured to themselves as they began to disperse. Sighing, the girl shook her head and turned to Pyrrha, offering a weak smile. "Trust me," she said, "as a fellow celebrity, I know how awful it is dealing with a bunch like that."

Recognition flashed through Pyrrha as she snapped her fingers. "Of course!" she realized. "You're Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Pokemon Company!"

Weiss Schnee gave a half smile and nodded. "And you're Pyrrha Nikos," she replied, "champion of Mistral, the youngest to ever obtain such a title!"

Pyrrha's face heated up and she shrugged. "Y-Yeah, that's me..." she murmured.

Weiss didn't seem to recognize Pyrrha's discomfort and continued, saying, "Listen, now that we're both here, I've been thinking...Obviously the two of us can easily pass through Beacon's exams, right? So why don't we form a partnership? Surely one such as yourself can see the merits of working together?" A strange gleam shined in Weiss's eyes. "Together, we can practically _rule_ the school!"

Sweat dropped down Pyrrha's forehead as she laughed awkwardly. "W-Well that sounds grand..." she said, looking away. "But, uh...I really should be getting to Arena A-01 now..."

Weiss thought for a moment, before pointing to her left. "You should find it somewhere along that way," she informed, before smiling. "I'll see you at Beacon, Pyrrha." The heiress turned around, waved over her shoulder, and left.

When she was gone, Pyrrha let out a sigh of relief, shaking her head. "The life of a champion, I guess..." she muttered. It's not like it could be helped, this was the consequence of beating the Elite Four. The constant stares, people kissing up to her for approval, not being able to walk down a street without people swarming around her like flies... One could quickly grow tired of it all.

That was why she chose to become a huntress, to get a fresh start. Of course, the Mistral League officials were quick to object, and tried to convince her to change her mind. 'What would happen to Mistral without its champion there to represent it?' they had asked.

Pyrrha smiled as she remembered her exact words: "Find a new champion."

She still giggled whenever she remembered the shocked looks on their faces as she walked out of the league. They had tried to stop her, but as the reigning champion she technically had more power than them, so her decision was final.

She would start anew as Pyrrha Nikos the huntress, not the champion.

Her stomach swelled with excitement as she approached Arena A-01, and when she entered she saw her opponent was waiting for her, an intimidating Pangoro standing behind her.

The young trainer took one look at Pyrrha and gasped, eyes widening. "S-Seriously, they want me to fight Pyrrha Nikos?!" She turned to the referee, jabbing a finger at the champion's direction. "You guys seriously expect me to fight _her?!"_

The bored referee yawned and nodded. "Yep."

The girl shook her head and recalled her pangoro. "Forget this!" she hissed. "No way I'll get into Beacon, I quit!" She stormed past Pyrrha, glaring at her before scoffing and exiting the arena. Pyrrha stared after the girl in surprise, her mouth agape as she processed what just happened.

The referee scratched his head then shrugged. "Guess you win by default, Miss Nikos. Congrats or whatever."

Pyrrha sighed and her shoulders slumped, feeling disappointed. So far, this wasn't exactly the best start for her new life...

...

"Glaceon, finish it off with ice beam!"

Glaceon nodded and reared its head back. _"GLAAAA..."_ it unleashed a devastating ray of pure ice fromits mouth. _"EON!"_

The ice beam attacked connected with the opponent, sending it flying back against the arena's wall. It collapsed, having fainted. Its trainer turned towards it and gasped. "Tropius, no!" he cried out, rushing towards his injured pokemon's side.

Weiss smirked as she recalled Glaceon to its pokeball, clipping it back into her waist. 'Too easy,' she thought as she watched her opponent return Tropius to its pokeball, rushing past her to the one site pokemon center. Weiss grinned and waited for her next opponent to appear, sitting down at the bench position at the side of the battlefield.

The lessons with Watts had certainly paid off, Weiss could definitely feel an improvement in her battling prowess. Thanks to the electric type master's teaching, the heiress had begun to see the battlefield as nothing more than an obstacle. Once she let go of any emotions she had lingering, she was able to see everything much more clearly. She could pinpoint flaws in the opponent's strategy for her to exploit, she could see when the opponent's pokemon was running low on energy, she could see the time for offense or defense, she could see _everything!_

And it certainly showed in this battle.

Never mind Tropius's crippling weakness to ice type attacks, but her opponent had clearly been an amateur, having practically zero battling skills when compared to herself. Honestly, she was surprised someone like him would even bother showing up to the qualification exams. Beacon was for the elite trainers, not some backyard trainer without any experience underneath his belt.

Weiss scoffed and reached for the water bottle underneath the bench, taking a long gulp from it.

She had no doubt that she would make it into Beacon Academy, even more likely if the competition remained the same as her first battle. Weiss just hoped that her next opponent would provide a bit more stimulation, she could tell that Glaceon was itching for a real challenge just as much as she was.

She wondered how Pyrrha was faring.

Weiss drifted back to her conversation with Pyrrha Nikos and smirked. Honestly, she thought it went along smoothly, and she had no doubts that she would be able to strike up a friendship with the champion. In doing so, she knew she would naturally rise up to the top of the school, as where she and Pyrrha rightfully belonged. Perhaps some would say she was being self-centered, but Weiss was inclined to disagree. She had a reputation to keep up, as did Pyrrha. Without their reputations who knew what would happen to them?!

She was just being a good friend, of course.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her next opponent enter the arena, and she smirked as she stood up to greet them. The two shook hands and walked towards opposite sides of the battlefield. Weiss looked her opponent up and down, noting that he didn't look much different in terms of capability as her last opponent. Weiss sighed and sent out Glaceon, wanting to simply get this over with as soon as possible.

Her opponent tossed his pokeball into the air. "Go, Fletchinder!"

Weiss smirked as she readied for battle. If anything, at least the type matchup should prove to be interesting...

...

"Infernape, use flamethrower!" Yang ordered, grinning. Infernape nodded and took a deep breath, before letting out a spew of flames towards its opponent.

"Toxicroak, dodge them use sludge bomb!"

The poisonous fighting type leaped into the air over the fire, a huge ball of poison forming in its hand. With a cry, it flung it down towards Infernape, who was launched back. It caught itself, however, looking more pissed off than anything else. Yang whistled and nodded towards her opponent. "Not bad," she commented, before grinning once more. "Infernape, get in close with flame wheel!"

The fire on the monkey's head ignited, forming a wheel-shape around it. Infernape roared and launched itself towards Toxicroak, ready to burn the frog to a crisp.

"Poison jab!"

Toxicroak's hand turned bright purple as it swung at Infernape, who leaped out of the way, countering with another flamethrower. Yang ordered close combat, and Infernape immediately rushed in, slamming its fists wildly into Toxicroak as it tried to block the vicious assault.

"Toxicroak, counter with low sweep!"

Toxicroak ducked down and shot its leg out, tripping up Infernape and causing it to yelp in surprise. The fire type slammed face fist into the ground, only to be kicked away by Toxicroak. Toxicroak didn't let up, going in for another poison jab, jamming its hand into Infernape's gut, sending it tumbling away.

"Infernape!" Yang cried out, eyes widening.

Yang's opponent flipped her hair and smirked. "Your infernape did pretty good," she complimented, "but it was still no match for Toxicroak."

Yang's look of worry immediately changed into one of amusement, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh, I wouldn't count out Infernape yet!"

"What?" her opponent raised an eyebrow, but noticed Infernape rising to its feet, eyes glowing a deadly red. "W-What..?" she gasped, fear spreading across her face.

"It's his ability, Blaze," Yang explained. "When Infernape's in a pinch, he receives a power boost. Think of it as round two!" She raised her fist in the air. "Infernape, flame wheel!"

 _"FERRRNAPE!"_ the fire type roared at the top of its lungs, sprinting towards Toxicroak as the flame wheel took affect. It slammed into the poison type, knocking the breath out of its lungs as it went soaring into the air. As it came back down, Yang issued a brick break attack, and Infernape was quick to obey. It smacked Toxicroak as hard as it could, slamming it against a wall. Toxicroak collapsed, but slowly rose to its feet, refusing to give in to the pain.

"Toxicroak, hurry and use sludge bomb!" its trainer cried out. Toxicroak weakly stepped forward, breathing heavily as it summoned a large ball of poison.

As it prepared to throw it, Yang commanded, "Flamethrower!"

Infernape took another deep breath and unleashed a ginormous column of flame out of its mouth, which shot right towards Toxicroak. It engulfed the poison type, and it cried out in pain as it burned. As the flames subsided, Toxicroak stumbled, before collapsing, having finally fainted.

For a moment, its trainer stared at it in shock, before silently recalling it to its pokeball. She looked up at Yang and smiled, walking towards her and extending her hand. "That was one hell of a good match," she said.

Yang smiled back and happily grasped her opponent's hand. "Thanks," she replied, "you and Toxicroak sure gave us a run for our money!"

Her opponent laughed before walking past Yang, waving over her shoulder. "Good luck at Beacon!" she called, before disappearing.

When she was gone, Yang wiped the sweat from her brow and flopped down onto the ground, Infernape following suit. Yang patted her pokemon's shoulder, chuckling. "We did it, buddy," she weakly cheered. "Three battles, over and done with! We made it into Beacon!"

 _"Nape!"_ Infernape answered, grinning tiredly.

"Ruby's gonna flip when she hear's about this!" Yang continued, running a hand through her sweaty golden hair. "She's gonna be so psyched!"

Her thoughts drifted off towards the scrawny boy she had met earlier, and she smiled softly. "I wonder how that Jaune guy is doing," she muttered. He seemed nice enough, she wouldn't mind seeing him around at Beacon.

As unlikely as that seemed...

She shrugged. "I'm sure he's doing fine."

...

Jaune was not doing fine.

He watched helplessly as Corphish scurried around the battlefield, desperately trying to avoid the large pidgeot that seemed intent on ending him.

"Stay still, you little shrimp!" Cardin snarled, turning to look towards Jaune. "Hey, you overgrown watchog, aren't you gonna make it do anything?"

"I...I..." Jaune couldn't even breathe! This was _not_ how he was expecting the battle to go! He had to do something, he knew that! But seeing Corphish in danger...it made him freeze up!

"Well if you won't do anything, I will!" Cardin growled. "Pidgeot, hurricane!"

Pidgoet flapped its great wings, and a large windstorm formed all around the battlefield.

 _"Phish!"_ Corphish cried out in fear as the windstorm picked it up and sent it spiraling through the air helplessly. Cardin grinned wickedly and pointed at it. "Pidgeot, wing attack!"

Pidgeot let out a cry and soared after Corphish, its wings glowing as it prepared to strike.

"Think, Jaune, think!" Jaune muttered as his eyes widened. A sudden idea popped in his head, and he desperately cried out, "Corphish, latch onto it with vice grip!"

Corphish turned around just in time to se Pidgeot about to strike. It quickly grabbed onto the bird's wing and held on tight, refusing to let go.

 _"Pidgoet?"_ Pidgeot began flying around wildly in an attempt to shake off the little water type. "C'mon, shake it off!" Cardin urged, clenching his fists. "Get rid of that little shrimp!"

"Keep holding on, Corphish!" Jaune encouraged. "Don't let go! Use leer then double hit!"

Corphish nodded and gave its best glare, causing Pidgeot to merely raise an eyebrow. However, before it could do anything, Corphish slammed its free pincer into its face, twice. The pidgeot growled and shook its head in an annoyance, finally managing to fling the water type off. Corphish landed roughly on its back, but quickly scrambled up.

"Wing attack!" Cardin ordered.

The pidgeot rushed down towards Corphish, determined to end the battle.

"Bubblebeam!" Jaune cried out, thinking at his feet. Corphish nodded and opened one of its pincers, a stream of small bubbles jetting at Pidgeot. They made contact with the bird, who cried out in pain and veered to the side, crashing into the ground. It tried getting up, but seemed to be having difficulty.

"What in the-?" Cardin turned towards Jaune. "Why did that puny Corphish do so much damage to my Pidgeot?!" he demanded to know.

"I...I don't know!" Jaune replied, at just as much of a loss. 'Why did it do so much?' he wondered.

"Pidgeot, use roost!" Cardin ordered.

Pidgeot let out a deep breath, healing itself in a faint white glow. It rose to the air in new spirits, and Jaune gulped nervously. "Again!" he ordered. "Bubblebeam!"

"Oh no you don't!" Cardin snarled. "Wing attack, Pidgeot!"

Pidgeot raced down at Corphish, preparing its attack. Corphish let out another bubblebeam, but Pidgeot dodged it just in time, and its hardened wing slashed by Corphish, crashing it down into the ground.

As the dust settled, Jaune looked on in horror at his fainted Corphish. It mumbled weakly to itself, unable to move. Meanwhile, Cardin recalled his pidgeot and smirked cockily. "Looks like you aren't ready for the big leagues yet, Junior," he taunted.

Jaune could only sink to his knees and crawled towards Corphish, gingerly lifting it up. "Corphish, are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Corphish opened its eyes and barely managed to nod.

"Y-You did good..." Jaune whispered, trying to ignore his tears. "You did your best, you put up a good fight..."

His tears splashed down onto Corphish's face as the dark reality of the situation dawned upon him.

They had lost.

They weren't going to Beacon.

...

 ***Gasp* Oh no! D:**

 **What shall happen next? Stay tuned to find out! Don't forget to review (pls)! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait, everyone. To be fully honest, I had written out the entire chapter, buuuut I forgot to save it after I was done! All that hard work, gone! And you can bet your butt I told myself, "Well there's no way in hell I'm writing all that again!"**

 **But evidently, I did write it all again, seeing how there's a chapter up. Phooey.**

 **Anyway! Last chapter we've witnessed Jaune blow his one chance of getting into Beacon! What unspeakable horror will come from this? Read on and find out! Enjoy the chapter, everyone!**

 **...**

Roman Torchwick considered himself a respectable thief, the absolute best of the best. When he robbed a place, it was a statement, everyone should fear him. He couldn't be stopped, and there was no slowing him down once he was on a roll.

However, with what he's been doing lately? It was almost an insult to his infamous name.

Roman was used to being the top dog, all the gangs and all the crime families answered to him. He practically ruled the city, and more than once he was able to convince the less savory members of law enforcement to do his dirty work or turn a blind eye. Hell, half the damn council wouldn't currently be sitting in office if it wasn't for him pulling some strings!

Roman had the city by its balls, he owned everyone and everything.

Until _she_ came along.

It soon became evident that she was the new top dog, and Roman...Roman was her bitch. She could kill him anytime she wanted, he was only alive because he was of use to her. It was a blow to the thief's pride, knowing he was powerless against such a villain. Soon, she was running his operations, and he was getting sloppy seconds. Then, she gave him the oddest request of all...

She wanted him to rob all the pokemon centers in Vale.

He didn't argue, he was much to self-preserving for that! Still, he wondered why she ordered him to rob the least profitable establishments in the kingdom. The pokemon centers didn't earn money, all the profit came from the pokemarts attached to each. But no, she hadn't wanted him to rob those. That would be too easy.

She wanted him to steal the pokemon.

Why? Who knows, it wasn't his place to ask. As long as he got his lien at the end of the day, he could be stealing candy from toddlers for all he cared. Still...it was strange. Why would she need so many pokemon? What would she even do with them? He had once overheard her speaking with her two lackeys, apparently, there was someone the woman answered to, who needed the pokemon for whatever reason. Again, as long as Roman got paid he didn't care.

Though, it wasn't like robbing pokemon centers was an exciting business. Honestly, most of his prizes came in the forms of useless critters like pidgeys and bidoofs. He remembered one pokemon that stood out, however...one that he wasn't keen on handing over to his employer. So naturally, he kept it for himself. It always paid to have backup in case his partner pokemon ever failed in battle, as unlikely as that was.

Currently, he and his hired grunts were waiting in a black van a block away from their targeted center, waiting for the scout to return with good news. He sighed and took a puff from his cigar, glancing over at the grunt next to him. The man was watching the news on his scroll, and with nothing better to do, Roman listened in.

The White Fang had made the news again. Roman rolled his eyes. The White Fang: once a peaceful organization for faunus rights, now a well-known terrorist group trying to kill all human or whatever. Those damn faunus...Roman hated them, what the hell even were they? Humans with pokemon features, like ears or tails or claws or wings...rumors say they were created back in the days when pokephilia was legal. Roman shuddered. No, he did NOT want to think about humans and pokemon fucking!

Suddenly, a shimmer of light appeared in front of him, and when it faded away there stood a diminutive young woman with an abra lazily floating by her side. The young woman wore an array of pinks, whites, and browns, with eyes and hair to match. She carried a pink parasol, which was lazily slung over her shoulder.

"Neo," Roman acknowledged with a nod. "What's the news?"

The girl smiled. To some, it would've made her look innocent. Roman, however, recognized the malice behind the doll-like face. The girl was dangerous, but she was loyal to him.

 _All clear,_ she signed. She then clicked her tongue three times, and the abra's ears twitched. Soon the light overtook the two, and they vanished as quickly as they appeared.

"Alright, boys," Roman announced as he stood up, opening the van's door and hopping out. "Let's get to work. Let's hope these pokemon are actually worthwhile."

The men all grunted, and Roman ran a hand over the two pokeballs attached to his belt. He could tell both of them were itching for a fight, and although Roman would normally opt to avoid such manners...maybe he would let the two indulge just this once.

...

"I wonder how Yang's doing..." Ruby wondered out loud as she browsed through the pokemon center's magazine section. She shook her head. "What am I thinking? She's probably doing great! I bet she's already won!"

She pulled out a magazine and looked at it, eyes widening. "A red gyarados?" she murmured to herself, her eyes beginning to sparkle. "That...sounds...AWESOME!"

"Shhhh!" an older man shushed her, looking cross. Ruby smiled sheepishly and turned away, shaking her head as she flipped through the magazine excitedly. She silently 'ooed' and 'aaed' at the pictures of the mysterious lake monster. 'That would be so cool, owning a gyarados!' she thought to herself, her mind wandering into another daydream.

Ruby was without a doubt, a pokemon geek. She had loved pokemon since she was a little girl, and because of her mother's influence, she had carried that love over towards her dream of becoming a huntress. It sounded beautiful to the young girl, saving people from monsters, bonding with her pokemon during long and exciting adventures...She internally squealed with joy.

She could sense the emotions of the two pokemon attached to her waist, and she gently stroked their pokeballs. "Don't worry, guys," she whispered, "I still love you!"

She couldn't wait until she was old enough to attend Beacon, just two more years! She was eagerly looking forward to getting to see all the different pokemon out there in the world, all collected in one school! Sure, some of her classmates in Signal had some uncommon partners, but she knew there was more to be seen at a school like Beacon.

She looked back at the magazine. 'Maybe I'll meet someone there with a gyarados,' she thought. 'Or maybe...maybe I'll catch one for myself!'

She could see it now...her riding that ferocious sea monster, destroying her foes with a single hyper beam...it looked so COOL!

Once again, she felt her pokemons' annoyance, and she absentmindedly patted their capsules.

It was at that moment when someone suddenly screamed, and she looked up in horror. A bunch of strange men had entered the room, with one holding the nurse hostage, a gun pointed at her head. "Everyone get down, now!" he barked, and everyone immediately obeyed except Ruby. She continued to stare blankly ahead as a flamboyant man dressed in white entered the building.

"Must you be so barbaric?" he scolded the man, before clearing his throat. "I'm sure you all know who I am, so let's make this quick, shall we?"

Ruby knew perfectly well who he was: Roman Torchwick, public enemy number one.

"Don't bother calling the police," the thief continued, "they won't be coming to save you. Now, let's make this quick: hand over all your pokemon and you'll all be free to go."

"N-No!" the nurse protested. "You can't! Pokemon aren't just things you can- AH!"

She was smacked over the head by the goon holding her. "Shut up!" he snarled.

Ruby finally snapped and stepped forward. "H-Hey!" she cried out. "Leave her alone!"

The criminals all finally noticed the little girl, and one by one they began chuckling.

"Well, well, well," Roman sneered. "Looks like Little Red here wants to play hero!" His eyes drifted down towards the two pokeballs clipped to her belt. "A trainer, huh?" he muttered before looking her up and down. "Well, little girl, why don't you listen to the adults here and hand over your pokemon?"

"N-Never!" Ruby tried to sound threatening, but it came out as a squeak. "I won't let you steal these pokemon!"

'Omigosh, what am I doing?' she inwardly panicked. 'I can't take on all these guys by myself! They're right, I'm just a kid!' She began to breathe quickly, fear beginning to overtake her. But she then shook her head. 'No, I can do this. I'll be a hero, just like Mom!' She took hold one of her pokeballs. 'I have her pokemon, after all, and he's never let me down before!'

Roman stared at her with an almost bored expression, and he shook his head. "Another idealistic little brat," he growled. "This is a waste of my time." He turned to one of his goons. "Barry, take care of her for me, will you? The rest of you, come with me to the back. Bring the nurse, too."

Soon one grunt stepped forward, casually tossing a pokeball up and down. "Think you got what it takes to beat me, little missy?" he taunted. He tossed his pokeball into the air. "Go, Hypno!"

A frightening, yellow humanoid appeared, slowly swinging a pendulum back and forth, back and forth...

Ruby shook her head. No, she couldn't let it hypnotize her! She threw her own pokeball in the air, the one that contained the pokemon her own mother once called her best friend. A bipedal, insect-like creature landed on the ground. The sunlight coming from the windows shined off its red, metallic exoskeleton. The pokemon rose up, glaring at its opponent with eyes that have seen the worst side of pokemon battles. It was not remotely intimidated by its foe, and it gave Ruby a much needed boost of confidence.

"Alright, Scizor!" Ruby cheered, grinning. "Use X-scissor!"

...

It really did hurt, knowing his dream was over.

Jaune dejectedly walked through the streets of Vale, Corphish scuttling by his heels. The two were suffering from quite the depression, but could they be blamed? Being hunters was their shared dream! Jaune was supposed to be saving the lives of everyone he met, all with Corphish at his side! They were meant to be partners in something greater than just themselves, they were...they were...

Jaune let out a roar of frustration and punched the wall of the building next to him, earning a few startled glances from nearby strangers. Corphish looked up at his trainer with worry, and gently patted Jaune's leg with one of its pincers. Jaune took a deep breath and looked down at his loyal pokemon, smiling gently. "Sorry for scaring you, Corphish," he apologized. "I'm...I'm fine, trust me."

Corphish did not believe his master at all, but he reluctantly nodded. _"Cor..."_ it sighed.

Jaune also sighed and slid down, resting his back against the side of the building, and Corphish scuttled onto his lap. "We were so close, Corphish..." Jaune muttered. "How...how are we supposed to go home? We put everything on the line for this..." He groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Mom is gonna kill us..."

Corphish nodded in agreement, his trainer's mom was a very frightening woman.

"Sorry we failed, buddy..." Jaune said, staring into space. "If...If only I was a better trainer...Then, then maybe..." Tears were beginning to form in his eyes, and Corphish was quick to wrap his little pincers around Jaune's waist. Jaune returned the hug and quietly began to sob.

It wasn't your fault, Corphish wanted to say. Jaune a good trainer, and the only trainer the little crustacean would ever want. Their failures were shared, they had a bond like no other.

Suddenly, a distant scream startled them out of their embrace, and Jaune looked off at the direction it was coming from. "Is someone...in trouble?" he wondered before standing up. He turned to Corphish and wiped away his tears. "Come on!" he hissed. "We need to check it out!"

Corphish nodded, and the two sprinted off towards the source of the screaming.

...

Scizor had been defeated.

He had taken out the man's Hypno without a hitch, but by that time Roman and his goons had already made their way out of the back. Upon noticing the defeated grunt, Roman had called out his own pokemon, a houndoom, and its flamethrower attack made short work of the steel/bug type.

Ruby recalled her pokemon back in its ball, still in shock. She stared fearfully up at Roman, who was approaching her with a dangerous look in his eyes. "Little Red, Little Red," he growled. "You had your chance to run, but now...now the real fun begins!" He grabbed her wrist, and Ruby screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone, anyone, would hear her and come to her rescue. Roman snatched up Ruby's second pokeball and tossed it into the air, releasing whatever was inside.

Roman stared at the flying bug for a moment, before scoffing. "A yanma, huh?" he muttered, a sickening grin forming across his face. "Perfect."

Yanma was confused about the situation and looked at its master for an answer. Ruby had a bad feeling, and she quickly cried out, "Yanma, fly away! Don't let them catch you!"

Yanma blinked, but before it could move one of the grunts' pokemon, a geodude, slammed into it full force, knocking it to the ground. Before Yanma could get up, the geodude used its large, heavy arms to pin down its wings, leaving it trapped. "Yanma!" Ruby shrieked, trying to escape Roman's grasp. "Yanma!"

"Houndoom," Roman said, glancing towards his partner pokemon. "Burn it to a crisp."

"No!" Ruby screamed, struggling against Roman's iron grip. "Please don't do this, not Yanma! _Please don't kill him!"_

"Let this be a lesson, Little Red," Roman snarled as Houndoom took a deep breath. "Never get in Roman Torchwick's way!"

Houndoom unleashed a blazing flamethrower that rushed towards the helpless insect. All hope seemed lost when suddenly.

"Corphish, bubblebeam!"

A jet stream of bubbles countered the raging flames, causing them to disappear. "What?!" Roman gasped, looking towards the direction the bubblebeam had come from. Ruby glanced up as well, looking at her pokemon's savior. He was a tall, lanky blonde boy. At his side stood a proud corphish, who was glaring at the criminals. Ruby took this chance to stomp as hard as she could on Roman's foot, forcing him to let her go. At that moment, the boy ordered another bubblebeam, this one aimed at the geodude that held Yanma. The geodude cried out in pain, fainting as the water slammed it against a wall. Yanma flew towards Ruby, who flung herself into her hero's arms.

"Thank you!" she sobbed. "Thank you!"

The boy smiled gently, then glanced nervously at the criminals, who had murder in their eyes. "C-Can you yanma fight?" he asked.

Ruby pulled away and nodded, turning back to face the criminals. "Let's do this!" she cried out, wiping away her tears.

Roman stared at the two teenagers in annoyance, before he turned to his two remaining grunts that could still battle. "Take them down," he ordered, recalling his houndoom. "Or at least keep them distracted long enough for me to make a quick exit. He began jogging away before he turned back to his goons. "And try not to get arrested, will ya?"

The two goons glared at the teens and released their pokemon: a golbat and raticate.

"Golbat, air cutter on Yanma!"

"Raticate, quick attack on Corphish!"

"Dodge it!" Ruby and the boy yelled at the same time. Thankfully, their pokemon obeyed, and the boy quickly thought of an attack. "Double hit, Corphish!"

"Yanma, use sonic boom!"

Corphish let out a battle cry as it smacked its large pincers against the raticate, sending it flying back. Yanma, meanwhile, dodged another air cutter and swished its tail, sending a large shock wave at the golbat. It cried out in pain as it was struck, and quickly moved in for a wing attack. However, Ruby ordered Yanma to use detect, allowing it to nullify the attack.

Raticate was attempting to bite down on Corphish, who was continuing to beat it away with double hit. "Use leer!" the boy commanded, and Corphish glared at Raticate, causing it to briefly freeze. That was all Corphish needed, and it finished its opponent off with a bubblebeam attack.

Yanma continued to swiftly dodge and detect Golbat's attacks, countering with quick attack and sonic boom. It wasn't long before Golbat was also worn down, to the point where it could not battle any longer.

The two grunts recalled their pokemon and shared a look, before running away as fast as they could. Ruby and the boy stared after them, before the two jumped up and high fived, excited that they had defeated them.

"We won!" Ruby cheered.

"I know!" the boy agreed. "I-I can't believe it!" He turned to Corphish and beamed. "Corphish, we did it!"

 _"CORPHISH!"_

 _"Yaaaanma!"_

Yanma barrels straight into Ruby, nuzzling its head into her chest. Ruby giggled and hugged her bug type close. "I'm so happy you're safe," she told it. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you." She looked up at the boy who saved Yanma, and smiled brightly. "Thank you," she said, "without you, Yanma wouldn't be here!"

"Aw, it was nothing," the boy replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head and looking away. This made Ruby giggle. The boy cleared his throat and extended his hand. "I'm Jaune Arc," he introduced.

Ruby was eager to shake his hand. "Ruby Rose!" she chirped. "it's nice to meet you!" She then looked down at Corphish. "Awww, you're the cutest little thing, aren't you?" Corphish seemed to agree, bouncing up and down due to her praise. Ruby grinned and looked at Jaune, clasping her hands behind her back, "You must be a very good trainer!"

Jaune looked away, frowning. "Yeah, well..." he grumbled. "Not good enough..."

Ruby blinked and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I...I actually just came back from the qualification tournament for Beacon," the blonde explained. "Me and Corphish...we didn't make it..."

"O-Oh..." Ruby didn't know what to say. I'm sorry? Better luck next time?

"A-Anyway..." Jaune said, changing subjects. "We should probably make sure everyone's alright."

"Y-Yeah..." Ruby agreed, nodding.

...

After making sure everyone was okay and allowing the nurse to heal their pokemon, Jaune and Ruby got to talking. They were enjoying each other's company, laughing at each other's jokes and fawning over each other's pokemon.

"You have a scizor?" Jaune gasped, eyes wide. "That's so cool!"

"It's actually my mom's," Ruby explained. "My mom was a huntress, and Scizor was her partner for years. But one day...only Scizor came back from their mission, and since them...he's been taking care of me."

"Ah..." Jaune flinched. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"It's fine," Ruby assured him, patting his shoulder. "To tell you the truth," she giggled, "Scizor sometimes acts more like a parent than a pokemon!" She sighed and leaned back. "I'm going to be a great huntress someday, just like Mom was...Me, Scizor, and Yanma...we're going to be the best of the best when we finally make it to Beacon." She blinked, then began to sputter. "S-Sorry! I-I-I didn't mean any offense!"

"It's fine, Ruby," Jaune said, shaking his head. "I knew deep down I wasn't going to make it as a hunter. I'm just...not good enough."

"That's a load of pooey!" Ruby barked, jumping to her feet. "Yanma and I wouldn't even be here right now if you hadn't come to our rescue! As far as I'm concerned, you'd make a great huntsman! A-And...and if Beacon can't see that, then they'd be losing a great student!"

"..." Jaune couldn't help it, he grinned. "Thanks, Ruby."

"indeed, that was quite the bold speech, Miss Rose."

The two teenagers jumped in surprise and whirled around. In front of them stood a stern looking blonde woman with glasses and piercing green eyes. By her side stood a beautiful gardevoir, who shared the same studious look in its eyes.

"Gah!" Ruby yelped, jumping back. "W-Who are you?"

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the woman introduced herself, "I am a huntress and a professor at Beacon Academy."

"Y-You're a huntress...?" Ruby repeated, completely in awe. Meanwhile, at the mention of Beacon Jaune looked away, not wanting to meet the woman's eyes.

"If I am correct, you two tried to stop the robbery taking place?" she asked.

Jaune decided to speak up. "Yeah...that's us..."

Ruby looked down. "But Torchwick got away..." she admitted, feeling shame.

Glynda nodded. "While he did get away, he didn't escape with his prize," she explained. "As far as we are able to tell, no pokemon were successfully stolen." She offered something similar to a smile. "You two did well. In fact...if you'll come with me, there's someone who wishes to speak with the two of you."

Ruby and Jaune shared a curious look, before nodding. After collecting their pokemon from the nurse, the followed Glynda and her gardevoir out to a car that was parked in front of the pokemon center. Without a word, Glynda took the driver's seat while Gardevoir took the passenger seat, leaving Jaune and Ruby the back seats.

The drive was entirely silent, and a bit nerve-wracking for Jaune. Why would a professor at Beacon say that there was someone who wanted to see him? He took a deep breath and looked at Ruby, who seemed to share just a bit of his nervousness, but she had an obvious look of excitement on her face. Well, at least one of them was having a good time.

Finally, Glynda pulled up to the police station, and she led the two teens through the building until they eventually came to an interrogation room. "He's waiting for you in there," she told them, opening the door.

Ruby and Jaune thanked Glynda before slipping inside, the door closing behind them. There was a table with two chairs on one end, and on the other head sat a man who looked like he could be anywhere from thirty to eighty. He had white hair, a green suit, and his piercing eyes peered at them through his glasses.

Ruby seemed to recognize him, seeing as how she gasped. "You're...You're Professor Ozpin," she muttered. "You're the headmaster of Beacon Academy."

Ozpin gave the two an enigmatic smile. "Please, do sit down." He gestured to the chairs in front of him. The two teenagers sat, and for a few moments, Ozpin looked the two of them up and down, nodding to himself. "So, you two are the ones who stopped a robbery by Roman Torchwick, hmm?"

"I wouldn't say stop-"

"YUP!" Ruby quickly cried out. "That was us!"

Ozpin chuckled and then turned to face Ruby. "Miss Rose," he began. "If I am correct, you will be joining my school in two years?"

"Uh-huh," Ruby nodded.

"And Mr. Arc," Ozpin's eyes were now on Jaune's, who gulped. "Do you plan on attending my school too?"

"I..." Jaune looked away. "That was the plan...but I lost the qualification match."

"...how unfortunate," Ozpin commented. "A young man like you, willing to risk your own life to save others...that sounds like huntsman material to me."

"I...I appreciate the compliment, sir."

Ozpin smirked. "Mr. Arc...your father was a very famous huntsman, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Jaune's eyes widened. "You knew my dad?"

"He went to this school when he was your age. He was easily one of our best."

'Then I guess I'm just a let-down,' Jaune thought, looking down at his knees.

Ozpin turned his attention back to Ruby. "Miss Rose?"

"Y-Yes sir?" Ruby squeaked, sitting up straight.

"Daughter of Summer Rose, I presume?"

Ruby blinked. "How did you know?" she asked.

Ozpin smiled gently. "You have her eyes," he stated simply. He then cleared his throat and folded his hands across the desk. "Now, let me finally come clean. Though one of you is two years away from attending Beacon, and the other failed to qualify, I am willing to pull some strings. You two have clearly shown that with some guidance, both of you would make for excellent hunters. Which is why..."

He offered his hand to them.

"I would like the two of you to attend Beacon this year."

...

 **So what did you think? Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome back, everyone! I don't have much to say this time around, so just go ahead and enjoy the chapter!**

 **...**

"WE'RE HOME!" Ruby announced as she burst through the door, barely able to contain her excitement. Her older sister, Yang, soon followed her inside, a huge grin on her face.

"Easy there, little sis," she said, ruffling the younger girl's hair. "Don't want to give Dad a heart attack, do you?"

Ruby sheepishly grinned. "Yeah...whoops."

They heard footsteps coming from the other room, and a well built blonde man appeared, smiling gently at the two girls. "Well, it's about time!" he teasingly scolded, approaching them. "What took you so long?"

"That's what I have to tell you!" Ruby exclaimed, hopping up and down. "Something AMAZING happened today, Dad!"

Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of Yang and Ruby, raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked. "And what would that be?"

"Well to start things off," Yang began, smirking and cocking her hip to the side. "I passed the qualification rounds! Infernape and I kicked some serious ass!"

"Language, young lady," Taiyang warned, before smiling gently. "That's great! I knew you could do it!"

"But that's not all!" Ruby added, bouncing up and down. "Dad, you won't believe this! Yang and I are both-"

A sudden barking cut her off, quickly followed by two small, furry creatures scurrying towards the family of three. One was a poochyena, a small dog like creature. The other was a zorua, a mischievous little fox with the strange ability to cast illusions. Ruby giggled and dropped to her knees, holding her arms out as an invite. "Zorua! Zwei!"

The bit-sized canine duo leaped into the girl's arms, eagerly covering her face with licks. Ruby giggled and begged them to stop, to no avail.

Zwei, the poochyena, was a pokemon Uncle Qrow had caught when Taiyang's second wife, Summer Rose, was killed during a mission. Zwei was more of a therapy 'mon than anything else, but the scrappy canine could still hold its own against Taiyang's other pokemon.

Zorua was Ruby's first pokemon if one didn't count the scizor she inherited from her mother. Zorua was a loving and loyal pokemon, though she was still too young for any real battles outside of training.

"Alright, you two," Taiyang said to the pokemon. "Get off of her before you drown her in your drool."

The pokemon obeyed and hopped off of Ruby, though Zorua stayed and lightly pawed at her trainer's leg. Ruby smiled and gently lifted up her beloved companion, holding her against her chest and softly petting the space between her ears.

"So..." Taiyang continued, grinning. "What's the good news, Ruby?"

Ruby beamed. "I stopped a robbery!"

...

...

"WHAT?!" Taiyang screamed, instantly grabbing his daughter's shoulders. "Are you hurt? Are your pokemon okay? Were they carrying guns? How many fingers am I holding up?!"

"Daaaad!" Ruby whined, pulling away from her father. "I'm fiiiine!"

"Don't worry, Dad," Yang chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I had the exact same reaction."

Taiyang sighed heavily and shook his head, looking sternly down at his younger daughter. "Ruby, I know you want to be a hero," he started, beginning another one of his lectures, "but you're still too young! You can't go rushing into danger every time you see something bad happening-"

"Let me finish!" Ruby interrupted, clearing her throat. She stood up taller and tried to look professional, a feat that proved impossible with her cute black and red dress and the small fox curled up in her arms. "Afterwards, I was taken to see Professor Ozpin, and after hearing about what I did..." She turned to her older sister. "Yang, drumroll, please?"

Yang rolled her eyes but complied, lightly tapping her fingers against the nearby wall in a quick rhythm.

"Ahem..." Ruby took a deep breath, before beaming like a child on Christmas morning. "He said he wanted me to come to Beacon this year! Isn't that great?!"

"..." Taiyang appeared to be in shock, with his eyes popping out of their sockets and his mouth hanging completely open. Ruby stared at him curiously and tilted her head to the side.

"Um...Dad?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. No response.

"Holy shit, I think you broke him." Yang deadpanned.

The man suddenly snapped back into action, glaring at the buxom blonde and pointing towards the kitchen. "Swear jar, young lady!" he said.

Yang groaned and walked into the kitchen, ready to toss her lien into the jar her father placed on the window sill. Taiyang sighed as he watched his daughter, before turning back to Ruby. "You've been accepted into Beacon?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...yeah," Ruby answered. "I know I'll be younger than the other students and less experienced, but I still wanna go! This is my dream, Dad!" She hesitantly looked away. "You're...not mad, are you?"

"Of course I'm not!" Taiyang assured, petting Ruby's head. "This is great, Ruby! I'm so proud of you!"

Ruby's eyes widened. "You are?!"

"Of course!" Taiyang grinned. "What kind of father would I be if I tried stopping you from living your dream? Go to that school and show them all what Ruby Rose is made of!"

"Oh, Dad..." Ruby felt tears of happiness form under her eyes, and she set Zorua down before throwing herself into her father's arms. "Thank you! I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Ruby," Taiyang said, holding the girl close. They finally pulled away and saw Yang watching them from the kitchen, grinning like she had just won the lottery.

"You and me are gonna own that school, Rubes," she exclaimed, walking towards Ruby and throwing an arm over her shoulder. "We're gonna be the best damn- I mean, best dang huntresses to ever walk through those doors!"

"I guess we should celebrate!" Taiyang suggested. "I'll order us some pizza!" He turned to Ruby and smiled. "Oh, and Qrow mailed you a letter. I left it on the coffee table for you."

"Thanks, Dad!" Ruby sat down on the couch, Zwei and Zorua hopping up next to her. She reached for the letter and opened it, reading it silently to herself.

 _Hey Kiddo, it's your favorite uncle._

 _For starters, I'm afraid I won't be back for awhile, things are getting crazy here in Mistral and I'll be needed to keep things in check. I guess the life of a huntsman is always a busy one, you know? Anyway, I'll make sure to send you and Yang some souvenirs, maybe a rare pokemon if I can get my hands on one. Yang's getting ready to head off to Beacon, with you not far behind. You'll need more than Scizor and she'll need more than Infernape if you two really want to make it as huntresses. I'll be sure to send some cool looking pokeballs for you girls so you can start catching some new friends. Did you hear about the red Gyarados? Heard it's a real hassle, but maybe all it needs is a good trainer..._

 _Anyway, your dear old dad let me know that you caught a yanma? That's pretty cool, kiddo, keep training that thing and soon you'll have a little speed demon. You can't lose if your pokemon can't be hit. Plus...Honchkrow's been acting pretty antsy, I think he needs a good sparring partner. Interested?_

 _Hope to hear back from you soon, kiddo, your letter's are a godsend among the shit I have to put with. Say hi to Yang for me, will you?_

"What did he say?" Yang asked, sitting down next to Ruby.

"Nothing much, just the usual," Ruby replied, setting the letter down. "He did say he'd send us some pokeballs to catch some more pokemon with."

"Pssh," Yang waved the thought away and shook her head. "Infernape's all I'll need," she said confidently.

"Uncle Qrow said you'd need more than Infernape in order to make it as a huntress," Ruby argued.

"Yeah, well, he's old," Yang scoffed. "The guy has a magcargo, for Arceus's sake."

"H-Hey!" Ruby squeaked. "I happen to like his magcargo!"

"That thing can burn down a whole forest if it touched one tree!"

"At least it has self-control, not like Infernape!"

"Infernape has plenty of self-control! He's just...impulsive, is all!"

"Girls!" Taiyang's voice came from the kitchen. "Quiet down, please!"

"Sorry, Dad!" Yang apologized over her shoulder, before playfully glaring at Ruby. The younger girl returned the glare, but soon the two broke into a fit of giggles.

Ruby sighed and leaned back on the couch, absentmindedly petting Zorua. "Beacon Academy..." she breathed. "I'm scared I'll wake up, and it'll all be a dream- OW!" She shot daggers at her sister. "Yang, why did you pinch me?!"

"It's proof you're not dreaming," the blonde answered, shrugging.

"Well...thanks, I guess." Ruby turned to Zorua and Zwei, who were both looking at her with their huge, cute eyes. "I'm going to miss you guys," she told them.

"Why don't you take Zorua with you?" Yang suggested.

Ruby bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know..." she sighed. "Zorua's still pretty young..."

"So are you," Yang reminded her.

"...and she hasn't even been in a real battle yet." Ruby finished.

"Well, she'll have to be in one sooner or later," Yang said, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I think Beacon would work wonders for her."

"Hmm..." Ruby hummed, before picking up Zorua and holding her up to her face. "Do you want to come to Beacon with me?"

Zorua let out a small bark of joy and licked her trainer's face, causing Ruby to giggle. "Well, I guess that settles it," she said, putting her pokemon down. She then took out her two pokeballs and released the pokemon inside. Looking over her team of three, she pumped her fist into the air. "Alright, you three!" she cheered. "Let's show Beacon what we're made of!"

Zorua jumped and cried out with excitement, Yanma performed a somersault in the air, and Scizor simply nodded, thinking about how much his new trainer reminded him of Summer.

Yang smiled as she watched the four celebrate. She couldn't say why...but she had a feeling Ruby being at Beacon would make things very, very interesting...

...

Pyrrha could see Beacon swiftly approaching from the horizon, the airship carrying her and all the other students who had made it past the qualification rounds. While she and many others were feeling on top of the world, the former champion knew this was just the beginning. Just because you got past the qualification rounds didn't mean you earned your spot in the school. From what she heard from past alumni, the initiations were the true test, and every year roughly half of those that passed the qualification rounds were kicked out of Beacon.

She felt butterfrees fluttering in her stomach, but she forced herself not to show her anxiety. She knew she'd do fine, her pokemon have never failed her before, she was ready for this. This would be the first step toward her new future, a future not about politics or fame, but about keeping the people of Remnant safe.

'I can do this,' she told herself. 'I didn't come so far just to fail now.'

"PYRRHA!"

Her thoughts were destroyed as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and she was lifted up and twirled around like a ragdoll. Pyrrha yelped, then began to laugh, enjoying the affectionate visitor. "Nora, stop!" she cried out between her laughter, and she was finally put down.

The orange haired, big breasted girl with a stufful on her shoulder grinned brightly and took the former champion's hands. "I'm sorry, it's just been soooo long, you know?!"

The stufful squealed in agreement.

Pyrrha smiled back and nodded. "Yes, it really has been," she agreed. She looked at Stufful and poked its nose. "Hello there, Stufful. I sure did miss you!" She peeked over Nora's shoulder and waved. "Hello, Ren, it's good to see you."

The pink-eyed man approached slowly with a small hint of a smile on his lips. "Pyrrha," he greeted, "I haven't seen you since the Mistral Conference."

Pyrrha approached the young man and drew him into a hug. "I'm surprised you and Nora are here," she admitted, "I wouldn't have thought that you two would pursue the life of hunters!"

"We could say the same about you!" Nora said, tossing one of her pokeballs up and down, Stufful pawing at her hair. "Imagine when we heard you quit being the champion!" Her eyes widened. "Now who's gonna be Renny's rival?"

Pyrrha shook her head and patted the bubbly girl's shoulder. "Nora, just because I'm no longer the champion doesn't mean Ren and I can't be rivals!" she told her, chuckling. "We're here now as hunters, our rivalry can be renewed!"

"Hmmm...I guess so."

"Nora's just disappointed ever since you beat me at the conference," Ren explained, shrugging. "She won't let me forget about it."

Pyrrha decided to chance subjects before Nora got defensive. "So what made you two decide to be hunters?" she asked.

Nora ran a hand behind Stufful's ears. "It was actually Ren's idea," she admitted. "He got an offer to be the new grass type gym leader for Shion Village, but he turned it down."

Ren nodded in agreement. "It was a good offer," he said, "but I prefer not to stay grounded in one place for too long. I figured the life of a hunter would lend me the freedom I want." His eyes darkened for a brief moment. "Plus, with what happened when Nora and I were children..."

Pyrrha nodded sympathetically, having heard of what happened to Ren and Nora's village when they were kids. "Well, I think you made the right decision," she stated, resting a hand on her rival's arm.

"And wherever Ren goes, I go too!" Nora announced. Stufful let out a growl, agreeing with her trainer.

Pyrrah giggled as she talked with her two old friends. Now that these two were back, she felt like Beacon would be all that much easier.

...

Motion sickness was a bitch. Jaune forced himself to look away from the window, and he slid down until he was resting on the floor. Corphish stared at his trainer with a look of both amusement and annoyance, and he gently patted the blonde's head.

 _"Corp-Corphish!"_

"Th-Thank, Corphish..." Jaune groaned, clutching his stomach. "Why was I cursed with this nausea? What did I do?"

 _"Corp...Phish!"_

"No, this is NOT because we ran away from home!" Jaune argued, shooting a glare at his partner.

"Jaune, are you alright?"

The blonde looked up and forced a smile on his face. "I'm fine, Ruby," he assured the younger girl. "Just...suffering from a little motion sickness, that's all."

It was then that he noticed the buxom blonde behind Ruby, grinning at him teasingly. "Wow, not exactly the impression I was expecting when Ruby said she wanted to introduce me to her new friend," she admitted.

Jaune turned his eyes back at Ruby. "Ruby, who's this?" he asked.

"Oh!" Ruby gestured to the beautiful bombshell behind her. "This is Yang, my older sister," she introduced, next gesturing at the poor trainer on the floor. "Yang, this is Jaune, the guy I was telling you about."

"Awww, I'm so proud of you, Rubes!" Yang exclaimed, ruffling her sister's hair. "Already making friends? I knew you could do it!" She then turned back to Jaune and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, we've met before!" she realized. "Yeah, you were the guy that got lost during qualifications, the guy with the Corphish!"

 _"Corphish!"_

"Yep..." Jaune moaned. "That's me..."

"Well look who made it to Beacon after all," Yang said, whistling. "I guess miracles do happen after all."

Jaune shrugged. "Something like that..." he muttered.

Yang offered him a hand. "Need some help there before you vomit all over the place?" She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Wouldn't want to be called 'vomit boy' for the rest of the year, would you?"

Jaune took Yang's hand and allowed her to lift him to his feet. He took a deep breath and glanced at Ruby, just now noticing the pokemon she held in her arms. "Ruby, what's that?" he asked.

"Oh?" Ruby held up the pokemon and grinned. "This is Zorua!" she exclaimed. "She's my loyal partner!"

"I thought Yanma was."

Ruby shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I say Zorua is, but she hasn't even been in a real battle before," she admitted. "She's still young, but I just know she and I can grow together here at Beacon!"

Jaune smiled and began to pet Zorua's head, the little fox purring in delight. "Well she sure is cute," he complimented, turning to his partner pokemon. "Isn't she, Corphish?"

 _"Phish!"_

"We're here!" someone shouted, catching the trio's attention. Everyone looked out the window, and sure enough, they were touching down on Beacon Academy's school courtyard. There was a buzz of excitement going through the potential students, and Jaune felt a rush of happiness...and fear.

'Do I...even deserve to be here?' he wondered. He hadn't passed the qualification rounds, and yet Ozpin accepted him anyway. It was surreal. He turned to Ruby, who was bouncing up and down in excitement. 'Ruby deserves to be here,' he thought. 'She's amazing!'

 _"Corphish..."_ A pincer tugged at his jeans. Jaune looked down and saw Corphish staring at him with determination laced all over him. The little crustacean's confidence filled Jaune with the same feeling, and he and his pokemon shared a nod.

...

From her private aircraft, Weiss Schnee watched as Beacon approached. She took a deep breath. "You deserve this," she told herself. "You trained with the best Atlas had to offer, you destroyed everyone in the qualification rounds..."

She closed her eyes for a moment, before exhaling and opening them.

'Look out, Beacon Academy,' she thought. 'Weiss Schnee is here!'

...

 **Before we end things off, here's something I need you to answer in the review section: Jaune WILL get another pokemon, but what do you think it should be? And don't forget to tell me WHY he should have your chosen pokemon! Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry for the long wait, everyone. Life's been kinda hectic and I haven't had nearly enough time to write and crank out consistent chapters. But hopefully, life will settle back down and leave me to write in peace. So anyway! The last chapter showed our heroes about to step onto the grounds of Beacon Academy! So...I bet some of you are wondering why Blake is the only member of the principle cast not to make an appearance yet...she will, trust me. She's just not that important to the plot compared to everyone else lol**

 **Sorry if that disappoints some of you Blake fans out there, but life's full of disappointments so tough luck, pal. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

 **...**

Land! Sweet, sweet land!

Jaune sighed in relief as he collapsed onto the ground, kissing it tenderly as if it were a lover. "You're the only one for me..." he whispered to a tuff of grass breaking through the cement. "I'll always treasure you, sweet, sweet mother earth."

Yang and Ruby watched him in confusion and slight embarrassment as the potential students walking past them gave the trio a series of odd looks. Ruby looked as red as her cape and gently prodded Jaune with her foot.

"Uh, Jaune?" she squeaked. "Are you okay?"

Jaune weakly glanced up at the two and gave an awkward grin. "Y-Yeah," he answered, "just peachy."

"Well do you mind getting off the ground?" Yang asked, glancing around. "Seriously, you're making a scene. I normally don't mind attention but every girl has her limits."

"R-Right..." Jaune weakly stood up and groaned, glancing down at Corphish, who looked just as embarrassed to be seen with his trainer.

"Anyway, uh...Yay!" Ruby suddenly cheered, throwing her fist into the air. Zorua jumped up and barked in response, and Ruby picked up her little pokemon and coddled it. "We made it to Beacon, I can't believe it! We're actually here!"

"Congrats, you two," Yang chuckled as Jaune joined in on the celebration. Shaking her head, she glanced past them and grinned. "My friends are over there, I'll see you crazy kids later, alright?"

"Bye, sis!" Ruby called and waved as her older sister left them. Sighing, she turned to Jaune and smiled. "So, what do we do now?" she wondered.

"Hmm..." Jaune shared a look with Corphish, and the two nodded. "I guess...we find out where the ceremony is being held," he suggested, shrugging. "Though...I don't have a clue where that is, exactly..."

"Wouldn't, y'know, logically it would be right there?" Ruby asked, pointing straight ahead towards the main building. The two took a few moments to simply admire the sheer awe and power the academy gave off, it rocked them to the very core. In the middle of the courtyard, Jaune noticed, was a statue depicting a trainer and his Lucario standing triumphantly over a defeated grimm. However, something about the Lucario looked different, much different. It seemed...stronger, more powerful. A dense coat of fur covering its body, streaks running through its arms.

"What's up with that Lucario?" he asked his companion.

"Mega evolution..." Ruby breathed. "Some pokemon have the ability to take a temporary, stronger form through the use of these little doohickies called mega stones." She held up her wrist, and it was just then that Jaune noticed that the young girl wore a bracelet with a sparkling stone. "Scizor is a pokemon that can mega evolve, but..." She rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled sheepishly. "He and I haven't been able to do it together yet, it requires an unbreakable bond that we don't exactly have yet..." She shook her head. "But we will!" she quickly added. "And when we do we'll be the strongest trainer and pokemon duo in the world!"

"That sounds amazing," Jaune said, grinning. "Maybe someday I can give this mega evolution thing a try."

Ruby nodded and shrugged. "It's not the only way to be stronger, though," she said. "In some parts of Mistral, I've heard of this nifty new thing called Z-power, though...no one knows much about it."

"Well, thank you for informing me." Jaune took a comical bow, causing Ruby to giggle.

"You're welcome, oh great huntsman," she replied, giving a small curtsy. The two rose and smiled at each other, their pokemon looking between them.

 _"Corp-Corphish!"_

 _"Zorua!"_

.Suddenly, Ruby noticed that Jaune's eyes were moving past her, and he was fixated on something behind her. "Jaune?" Ruby asked. "What are you..." She turned around, and her eyes widened. "...looking at? Ohh..."

There was a girl standing at the base of the statue, and wow...she was beautiful. Ruby wasn't really interested in girls, heck she wasn't really interested in anything other than becoming a great huntress, but she couldn't deny the grace the girl carried herself with and the delicate beauty she had. Her hair was white as snow, long and tied into a ponytail hanging from the side of her head. Her skin was pale, but not in a ghastly sort of way, in the way that almost made her look like a porcelain doll. She wore a white blouse and skirt, with knee high boots to match. Clipped to her belt were two luxury balls, showing Ruby that A, her pokemon must really love her; and B, she must've been a lot richer than them...Luxury balls weren't cheap.

"Wow..." she murmured. "She's pretty..."

"Yeah..." Jaune breathed, eyes wide. "She really is."

Ruby giggled and poked Jaune's cheek. "Why don't you go talk to her then, silly?" she suggested. "Introduce yourself, make a new friend!"

"Y-Yeah, but..." Jaune gulped and tugged at his collar. "I'm not good at talking to girls...or anyone, really."

Ruby shrugged. "Neither am I and- HEY WAIT!" She puffed her cheeks out and stamped her foot on the ground cutely. "I'm a girl! You're talking to me just fine!"

"You're different!" Jaune protested. "You're younger than me...you remind me of one of my sisters back home! But this girl-" He jabbed a finger at the direction of the girl. "She's different! Waaaay different!"

"Oh, just talk to her, Jaune!" Ruby barked, silver eyes glaring. Jaune 'eeped' and nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, okay..." He poked Ruby's shoulder. "But only if you come with me."

"W-What?!" Ruby gasped. "Why? I'm not good at talking with people!"

"That's exactly why!" Jaune explained. "If we both introduce ourselves, then it will help with BOTH of our social awkwardness!"

"I...I guess you're right." Ruby sighed in defeat and turned around. "Okay, let's do this- HEY! Where did she go?!"

Sure enough, the girl had moved on, and Jaune groaned and slapped himself. "There go my chances of having a cute girlfriend..." he grumbled.

"Don't give up, Jaune!" Ruby told him, tugging at his arm. "She couldn't have gotten far!"

The two hurried along, Corphish and Zorua right behind them. "She might've gone towards the main hall?" Jaune suggested.

"Maybe..." Ruby murmured. "Or maybe...Hey! Maybe that girl can help!"

The girl in question was leaning against a wall, a book in her hands. She had black hair adorned with a rather cute black bow. The most stunning feature about her was her piercing amber eyes. The two approached her and Jaune cleared his throat, earning the girl's attention.

"Yes?" she asked, setting her book down momentarily.

"Um...hi," Jaune greeted with a small wave. He cleared his throat again. "We were looking for someone...a girl. She's pale, has white hair, is wearing nothing but white, and is very pretty. Seen her around?"

"Can't say that I have," the girl answered after a moment. "However, I do know who she is...You should stay away from her."

"Why?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"Her name is Weiss Schnee," the girl explained. "Heiress to the Schnee Pokemon Company."

"Oh, that's cool," Jaune said, nodding. He raised an eyebrow. "Why should we stay away from her, though?"

"The Schnee Pokemon Company is known for harsh labor conditions, underpaying their employees, and questionable business partners," the girl said, somehow looking angrier with every mention. "Not to mention what they do to the faunus...it's despicable."

"O-Oh..." Ruby muttered.

Jaune shook his head. "That's just her family, though," he countered. "Her family and status shouldn't be how people see her, she could be an actually nice person, but you'd never know by throwing all kinds of labels on her." He smiled and nodded. "Do you know what my mom says? She says strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, and I'll never forget the weight she put into those words."

The girl looked...flabbergasted. Coughing awkwardly, she glanced away and bit her lip. "I suppose...you do have a point."

"So what's your name?" Ruby asked.

The girl was silent for a few moments before answering. "...Blake."

"Well Blake, it's nice to meet you," Ruby chirped. "My name's Ruby, and this is my friend, Jaune!"

Blake nodded. "Yeah..."

"Well, we're gonna go find that girl," Ruby said, waving goodbye to Blake. "We'll see you later!" She tugged at Jaune's arm and led him away.

Blake stared after them, still thinking about what Jaune had said. "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet, huh?" she repeated. Smiling softly, she quietly went back to her book.

...

"Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha recognized Weiss's voice and sighed internally. Turning around, she put on a plastic grin and greeted the heiress warmly. "Weiss, it's nice to see you!"

"It's nice to see you as well," Weiss returned the greeting. "Though, I'm not surprised to see that you made it through the qualification rounds."

"I can say the same thing for you," Pyrrha said. "Rumors of your battle skills reach surprisingly far, most people are wondering when you're going to make an appearance in the Atlas conference."

Weiss shrugged. "Perhaps someday," she said. "Honestly, I'm just glad to be out of Atlas."

That caught Pyrrha's attention. "Oh?"

Weiss nodded. "Without going into too much detail, I'd just rather not be treated like some sort of prize by my father. Beacon is just the escape I need."

"I can relate to that," Pyrrha said, surprised that she actually could. "I needed to get out of Mistral, the pressure there was unimaginable."

"Well, we're here now." Weiss smiled and glanced up at the stage, where Professor Ozpin was supposed to be making a speech shortly. "May I admit something? This still feels like some kind of dream...you know?"

"Yes," Pyrrha agreed, nodding. "Yes, it is."

A new voice made its presence known. "I could pinch the two of you if you wish."

The girls turned around, and Pyrrha smiled warmly. "Hello again, Ren, Nora."

Ren nodded and turned to Weiss, bowing to her. "Miss Schnee, it's nice to meet you, my name is Lie Ren." he introduced.

"Please, simply call me Weiss," the heiress said, tapping her chin and then snapping her fingers. "I recognize you! Lie Ren, runner-up in the Mistral conference. I must say, your mastery over grass types is very impressive."

"It's an honor to hear that from you, Weiss," Ren said, smiling gently. "Though, in truth, perhaps it was those very grass types that cost me victory." He gestured to the pokeballs clipped to his waist. "Since then, I've expanded my roster a bit, hopefully, my two newest partners will serve me well."

"Aw, Renny, don't be like that!" Nora cried out, throwing an arm over Ren's shoulder. "You're a grass type GOD! No one is better than you!"

Ren chuckled. "Technically, Pyrrha is better than me."

Nora pouted and crossed her arms.

"Attention, please." The group of four turned to the stage, seeing Professor Glynda Goodwitch was standing behind a microphone. Behind her stood a stoic gardevoir, whose piercing gaze cut through the students like a scyther's arm. "First of all, congratulations to all of you for passing the qualification rounds," Goodwitch said, nodding to the potential students. "But the road from here will be much tougher than anything you've experienced before, I promise you. Now, the headmaster of Beacon Academy would like to make a speech."

She backed away, and Professor Ozpin stepped forth, clearing his throat as his eyes carefully scanned the mass of aspiring hunters. "I shall keep this brief," he began, taking a quick breath. "You've all arrived here today in hopes of becoming something more than what you already are, to prove you are among the best trainers in the world, and to dedicate your life to protecting the citizens of Remnant. However, when I look at you...all I see is wasted energy."

The crowd stiffened, and the whole atmosphere seemed to change.

"You're all in need of purpose, direction," Ozpin continued. "You assume that the skills you've acquired over your years of training will free you from this, but you'll find that your time here in Beacon will be full of hardship. Only a few of you will manage to overcome it. So remember, it is up to you to take the first step." He nodded and backed away, leaving Glynda to take charge once again.

"Tonight, you will all sleep in Beacon's great hall," she informed them. "Tomorrow we will hold initiations. You will all meet on the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest. Be present there by exactly seven o' clock AM, or you will automatically be expelled from Beacon Academy. Good luck, future hunters." With those words sinking into everyone's minds, she and her gardevoir left the stage.

"That was...ominous." Jaune gulped as he stood by Ruby and Yang.

"You can say that again..." Yang mumbled, shaking her head. "What do you think Ozpin was really trying to say?"

"We can worry about that later," Ruby decided, smacking her fist against her open palm. "Right now we need to go to the great hall and claim a spot before the good ones are all taken!"

The two hurried to gather their belongings and headed towards the great hall. Once they were there they found a spot by one of the grand windows and parked their belongings there. Yang whistled a small tune as she laid out a collection of pillows and blankets, all adorned with stylized flames. When she caught Jaune staring, she winked at him and said, "I have a thing for fire types."

"Your partner's an infernape, right?" Jaune asked.

"Ruby tell you that?" Yang guessed before nodding. "Yup, when I was young a local professor came by with some starter pokemon, hoping to give them away to aspiring young trainers. When I saw Chimchar I knew he was the one for me, and we've been partners ever since!"

"So...you don't have any other pokemon?"

"What do I need other pokemon for?" Yang wondered, scoffing. "Infernape's all I ever needed and all I will ever need!"

"But Yaaang," Ruby whined, sitting down on her own blankets, Zorua in her lap. "At the very least, you can catch a _friend_ for Infernape so he isn't so lonely!"

"Maybe tell that to Jaune, not me," Yang suggested. "He only has one little Corphish, until it evolves he'll need more pokemon to back him up." She turned to Jaune. "No offense, Jaune."

"None taken," Jaune sighed, sitting down and lightly stroking Corphish's back. "I know Corphish and I are at a disadvantage when compared to everyone else. I didn't even make it past the qualification rounds..."

"But you and Ruby stopped Torchwick," Yang countered. "That's almost more impressive, I'll say. You and Corphish will be fine, I'm just saying that maybe an extra partner or two will help you two grow stronger." She paused, before muttering, "Actually..." She reached into one of her bags and fished around for a bit, before pulling out a Pokeball. She tossed it to him and said, "Here, it's an unused Pokeball." She shrugged. "Our uncle likes to send us pokeballs as gifts, but I've already decided I'm not using anything except Infernape, so I'll give you this for when you find a pokemon you want to catch."

"Thank you," Jaune said, smiling.

"Jaune, look!" Ruby hissed, tapping her friend's shoulder and pointing forward. "It's that girl!"

Jaune turned around and gasped. There she was, just across the hall. The girl as white as snow...Weiss Schnee.

Yang whistled and nodded in approval. "Dang," she muttered. "A little on the petite side, but still quite the looker." She turned to Jaune and elbowed him. "Quite the taste you've got there, lady-killer." she teased.

"W-What?!" Jaune sputtered, shaking his head. "N-No, I just want to get to know her, that's all!"

"Didn't you say something about her being a 'cute girlfriend', though?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"RUBY!"

"Oh. My. God." Yang's shit-eating grin grew. "Well, Jaune, go on...Go get to know her." She leaned in and whispered huskily in his ear. "Show her your moves, pretty boy~"

"YANG!" Jaune squealed, backing away. "You're just making things worse!"

"Y-Yeah, Yang..." Ruby said. "Lay off him a little."

"Oh boy..." Yang sighed. "You two are just that socially awkward, huh?" She perked up and rose to her feet, reaching down and hoisting her companions up. "Well, c'mon, guys! Let's go introduce ourselves!"

"Wait, what?!" Now it was Ruby's turn to freak out. She shook her head as she tried pulling away from her older sister's iron grip, but no such luck. "Yang, don't do this to us, please!"

"Too late!" Yang chirped as she began dragging the two unfortunate souls towards Weiss, who was now beginning to take notice of them. She didn't look pleased to have three complete strangers approaching her, Jaune noticed, but she politely waited for them nevertheless.

"Hello~" Yang greeted, stopping a few feet away from the heiress. "Nice to meet you, the name's Yang!"

"Pleasure," Weiss responded coldly, catching Yang off guard briefly. However, she quickly recovered and sent her two victims forward.

"Um...Um...Hi!" Ruby blurted out, sticking her hand forward. "M-My name's Ruby! It's nice to meet you."

Weiss seemed reluctant to take the younger girl's hand but after a few moments of pondering she shook Ruby's hand. "Weiss Schnee," she introduced. "I must say, you seem quite young to be attending Beacon."

"Oh! Er..." Ruby glanced away awkwardly, but Yang stepped in and threw an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Ruby here caught the attention of good ol' Ozpin when she stopped a criminal!" she announced loudly, earning the attention of several passerbys. "She was so great that he offered her admission here on the spot!"

"Yaaang..." Ruby whined. "You're embarrassing me..."

Weiss didn't react, but she offered a small nod. "Impressive," she acknowledged, before turning to face Jaune. The two locked eyes for a few moments, before the young man snapped back into action. (And by 'snapped' he meant that Corphish pinched his leg.)

"Oh, uh...I'm Jaune Arc!" he introduced. "You're Weiss Schnee, right? Um...Heiress to the Schnee Pokemon Company?"

He felt foolish for stating the obvious, but Weiss seemed almost...pleased by the recognition. "I am," she confirmed, reaching out and shaking his hand.

The two shook hands for a while, quite awkwardly. Jaune noticed and pulled away hastily, coughing. "Um..."

Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"You're very pretty!" Jaune blurted out, immediately covering his mouth afterward. Yang facepalmed and shook her head.

Corphish seemed just as disappointed.

Weiss blinked. "Thank you." she said, no emotion whatsoever.

"Y-You're welcome..." Jaune said, nodding. "Well...I guess I should get going now..." He turned around when Weiss called for him to stop.

"If you don't mind," she said, "may I see your corphish?"

"Oh, of course..." Jaune gestured for Corphish to move forward, and the little crustacean scuttled towards the heiress. The two stared at each other for some time, before a small smile appeared on Weiss's face, nearly melting Jaune's heart in the process.

"He seems very healthy and happy," the heiress noticed, nodding in approval. "I take it you use my company's products, then?"

"Actually...no..." Jaune explained nervously. "Just natural berries, mostly...we don't have a pokemon center where I'm from, just a daycare."

"I see..." Weiss took a moment to reach into her bag. She pulled out two pokepuffs and two bottles of...something. "Then consider this a complimentary gift. Two quality pokepuffs and two hi-potions, all made by the workers of the Schnee Pokemon Company."

"Oh, um...thank you." Jaune smiled and nodded. "I'll, uh...see you later, then."

Weiss nodded and waved goodbye as the trio left. "Well that could've gone better," Ruby murmured once they were back to their pile of blankets.

"I think it went pretty well," Yang said with a shrug. "She's a little cold, but not mean." She smirked and wrapped an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "She even gave our lady killer here a little gift. Not too shabby, Jaune~"

"S-She was just being nice, that's all." Jaune murmured, but the blush on his cheeks gave away his true thoughts.

"Who knows?" Yang continued. "Maybe you two will end up being partners tomorrow..."

"Partners?" Jaune and Ruby asked at the same time.

Yang nodded. "Rumors say that tomorrow we get assigned partners, people we work together with for all our time here at Beacon."

"W-Well..." Jaune muttered. "I wouldn't mind being partners with her..." He turned his gaze towards the heiress who was busy laying out her blankets. He smiled softly, happy that he had at least made some progress with the girl. 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet,' he reminded himself.

...

Those three weren't bad, per say, Weiss could admit. They were nice enough, she guessed. That Jaune fellow was particularly interesting, but whether that was in a good way or a bad way was yet to be determined.

Maybe she gave that gift to him just to get rid of the three, maybe it was out of the goodness of her heart. Either way, she doubted she wouldn't see them again. Whether she liked it or not, she'd have to engage in social interaction with her fellow students, especially with whoever her partner would end up being.

She glanced behind her and noticed that the Jaune guy was staring at her. The moment their eyes met he turned away quickly, causing Weiss to roll her eyes. Typical, Was she just a prize for some boy to gain? Anyone who thought that about her would be surprised to find that she refused to be anyone's pet. She refused to be with anyone who wanted her for her status. And if that Jaune thought he could get to her, he had a whole other thing coming.

Scoffing, Weiss continued to spread out her blankets. Once she was done, she laid down at closed her eyes.

Tomorrow was the beginning of the rest of her life.

...

 **Since Jaune's father is dead in this story, I figured Jaune wouldn't have gotten that "girls love confidence" talk, allowing his true personality to show to whomever he interacts with. This means Weiss wouldn't immediately hate him like she does in the show, she would just...tolerate him. Likewise, since Ruby was with Jaune the whole time, she wouldn't have bothered Weiss, meaning that she could tolerate Ruby too. Also Blake. Woo.**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd! Also, don't forget to tell me what pokemon you think Jaune should catch!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't have a speech to present to the class, so instead, I'm hiding in the bathroom writing fanfiction...how lovely. That's apparently my life now, kids, HOORAY!**

 **Anyway, this chapter we'll finally be starting Beacon's initiations, and we'll get to see the cast's pokemon in REAL action! I know you guys must all be wondering what heat our lovable characters are packing: Ren is said to be a master of grass types, and Pyrrha's a former champion of the Mistral region. This should be exciting, huh? Plus, I'm really looking forward to showing off more grimm-pokemon, considering the only one seen so far was an abomasnow.**

 **Without further ado, go ahead and enjoy the chapter!**

 **...**

Jaune had woken up the next morning to see Corphish in his face, staring at his trainer curiously. Jaune groaned and glanced around, trying to remember where he was. When he saw Ruby and Yang fast asleep a few feet away from him, everything clicked. He was at Beacon Academy...

It almost seemed like a dream when he thought about it. He still wasn't fully sure if he deserved to be here, Jaune had grown from a family that didn't value privilege. The family worked hard for what they had gotten, nothing was ever handed to them. So to be handed a chance to attend Beacon by the headmaster himself...it felt...wrong somehow...

There was still a chance, however, that Jaune wouldn't be allowed into Beacon after this day...Those who had passed the qualification rounds were only halfway there, they had to also pass initiations. Those that didn't were not allowed to return to Beacon. Ever. It was intimidating, but Jaune realized it was necessary. Taking down trainers in battle was one thing, but if you couldn't do the same to grimm then you weren't hunter-material. Jaune could only hope that he was ready, he hadn't even SEEN a grimm before, outside of fiction! But he knew those silly comic books he read weren't accurate to the real world of hunters. He may have been an idiot, but he knew that girls that were THAT skinny didn't have breasts THAT big!

"Morning, Corphish," Jaune muttered once he got his bearings. Corphish scuttled off of him as the blonde stood up and stretched, looking around the room. Most people were still asleep, he was one of the first up. Jaune reached for his scroll and looked at the time. His eyes widened. Four thirty?! Well, considering how early initiations started, it probably was wise to wake up earlier than usual. Jaune turned to the girls he had befriended and considered letting them sleep, but he knew they needed to be up bright and early. Sighing, he crawled towards Ruby and gently prodded her arm. The young girl stirred and her silver eyes fluttered open.

"Jaune..?" she murmured, turning to face him. "What time is it..?"

"It doesn't matter," Jaune answered. He figured that if he told Ruby the time, she'd just roll over and fall right back asleep. "Initiations start at seven, remember? We need to get ready."

"Oh...yeah..." Ruby yawned cutely and turned to nudge Yang awake. "Yang...Yaaaang."

Jaune left the sisters to themselves as he stood up and reached for the clothes he had laid out the night before. He grabbed Corphish's Pokeball and recalled him into it, saying, "Get some rest, buddy." He shoved the Pokeball into his pocket until he could clip it to his belt, and bunched his clothes up in his chest, heading towards the bathroom. Yawning as he entered the bathroom, he tugged one of the stalls open and stepped inside, shrugging off his onesie and throwing on his normal clothes. He then stepped out of his stall and towards the bathroom's large mirror, turning on the sink to splash water on his face.

"Well I'll be damned..." a menacing voice said from behind him. "I never thought I'd see you again."

Jaune whipped around, and his eyes widened. "Y-You!"

The boy from the qualification rounds, the one who had crushed Jaune in battle...he was standing right there! The boy sneered and stepped closer, staring down at the smaller blonde. "The name's Cardin," he introduced, "I thought you wouldn't forget. I'm hurt."

"S-Sorry..." Jaune apologized. "It's just been a crazy past few days, you know?"

"I swear I remember beating you," Cardin said, raising an eyebrow. "You were the wimp with that small-fry corphish. You lost the qualification rounds, how did you get into Beacon?"

"I...I..." Jaune gulped and tried edging towards the door. "I stopped a robbery. Ozpin heard of it and offered me a spot here, that's all."

Cardin reached out and snatched Jaune's arm, keeping him in place. "I didn't say you could leave," he growled. "So you stopped a robbery, so what? You're not qualified to be here, you're just a damn fake, aren't you?" He dragged Jaune closer, glaring down at him with hardened eyes. "I'm gonna keep an eye on you, kid...let's see how long you really last here."

Cardin then let Jaune go and trudged out of the bathroom, leaving Jaune by himself. The blonde sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. 'I nearly forgot about him,' he thought. 'I was hoping he wouldn't make it in, but it turns out he did...great.'

Jaune waited a minute, before he quickly exited the bathroom, heading back towards the spot he and the girls had set up. The sisters were already dressed and were packing up their pillows and blankets. "Morning, lover boy," Yang called over her shoulder, smirking.

"Please don't call me that," Jaune groaned, beginning to pack his own blankets. "So when's breakfast?"

Ruby pointed towards the exit. "Pretty much everyone's up now," she answered, "and they all left through there towards the cafeteria. So I think breakfast is ready whenever we want it."

"That's good, I'm starving," Yang said, rubbing her stomach. "You can't expect me to fight grimm on an empty stomach, right?"

"I've never even seen a grimm before," Jaune admitted, turning to the sisters. "Have you?"

The girls were silent for a moment before they nodded slowly. "We live out of town," Ruby explained, "pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We have grimm sniffing around all the time, but they usually leave."

"I've tussled with one or two before," Yang boasted, puffing out her chest. "They aren't too tough, but then again none of them were that big." She glanced out one of the grand windows, where the cliffs above Emerald Forest could be seen. "The second years say that there's a lot of tough grimm in the forest, tougher than anything I've faced before. Hell, some of them say people have died during initiations."

Jaune and Ruby froze, and it was dead silent. "That's...that's not true, is it?"

"It is true." The three turned around, and Ruby smiled.

"Blake!" she exclaimed. "It's good to see you again!"

"Hello, Ruby," Blake said with a small smile, but it quickly disappeared. "But it's true...people do die during initiations." She glanced around at the remainder of the potential students still packing up. "It's possible that some of these people around us won't make it either."

"Hey, no need to scare Ruby like that." Yang scolded, frowning.

Blake blinked, then nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry, Ruby."

"It's alright..." Ruby said, standing up. "Let's stop with all the doom and gloom and get some breakfast, okay?"

Everyone nodded and headed towards the cafeteria. Thankfully, everyone else was already eating, so the line wasn't very long. Jaune glanced around and inhaled sharply when he caught sight of Weiss sitting down by herself, a light breakfast on her tray. Yang caught him staring and smirked. "Why don't you go sit with her, Jaune?" she suggested. "Maybe you'll get that cute girlfriend after all."

"Har har," Jaune muttered, rolling his eyes. "I...I don't think she really thinks that highly of me anyway."

"She gave you those gifts, right?"

"She was just being nice!" Jaune argued. "It doesn't mean anything!"

Yang sighed and shook her head. "You're hopeless, you know that? Just go and talk to her, Jaune! I'm trying to be a good friend here!"

"I think you should too!" Ruby chipped in, and even Blake nodded a little.

Jaune stared at the girls helplessly, before pathetically murmuring, "Can you come with me, then?"

All three seemed to deflate a little before they all nodded. Jaune sighed in relief, and once they all got their meals they headed towards the table Weiss was sitting at. She glanced up and noticed them, but didn't try to stop them, and one by one they all sat down. Jaune and Ruby on either side of her, with Blake and Yang sitting across.

"H-Hi, Weiss," Jaune greeted nervously. "Mind if we sit here?"

"Hello, Jaune," said Weiss, before shaking her head. "It's alright, you can sit here."

There was silence for a minute before Yang kicked Jaune's leg underneath the table. The blonde boy winced and turned to Weiss once more. "So...are you looking forward to initiation?"

Weiss had a small smirk on her face and nodded. "Yes, I am," she answered. "I look forward to testing my skills against the grimm."

"Are you saying...you've never seen one before?" Jaune asked.

"I haven't." Weiss turned to Jaune. "You haven't either, I take it?"

"Outside of comics, not really," Jaune chuckled awkwardly. Yang snorted, but he ignored it. He and Weiss had something in common!

Breakfast passed relatively quickly, with Jaune and Weiss managing to make some small talk. However, it wasn't long before the blonde boy stood on top of the cliffs overlooking the Emerald forest, and he felt a sense of vertigo forming in his stomach.

They were...really high up.

Ruby, who was next to him, looked equally nervous, and she kept fidgeting. Yang, on his other side, looked pumped. She was grinning and tossing her single Pokeball up into the air. "You guys ready?" she asked them, and the two nervously nodded.

No, they weren't ready at all.

Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch were pacing up and down the cliffs before Ozpin cleared his throat and spoke up. "I suppose you're all wondering how initiation works, and I'm sure you've all heard rumors by now. Allow us to put those rumors to rest."

Glynda stepped forward, and from behind her, Gardevoir teleported into view, startling some of the potential students. "Gardevoir here will teleport all of you to a random location in the forest, it's up to you to navigate and find a temple containing several relics."

"However, there's a catch," Ozpin continued. "Here at Beacon we value teamwork and understanding, so you will each be assigned a partner who will stay by your side for the next four years."

Ruby stiffened, and she whimpered softly.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the remainder of your time here." Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug. "Each set of partners is to collect one relic and return to the top of the cliffs, where you will be graded accordingly." His eyes suddenly hardened, and the whole mood shifted drastically. "And remember, do not hesitate to take down everything in your path...or you will die. The grimm are not like normal pokemon, they will attack without reason and they will not rest until they catch their prey. You best hope that your pokemon are strong enough to fight, your lives depend on them." He smiled and nodded. "Any questions?"

Everyone was silent, still processing his words.

"Good." Ozpin said.

Goodwitch turned to her pokemon and nodded. "Gardevoir, if you would."

Gardevoir stepped forward, eyes suddenly glowing white. _"Garde...VOIR!"_

A huge burst of light surrounded everyone, and Jaune felt like he was being ripped apart by some invisible force, and he bit his lip to avoid screaming in pain. His whole vision was clouded by white, and he felt himself being thrown all over the damn place.

Finally, finally, his vision cleared, and he found himself surrounded by large, green trees. "Whoa..." he muttered. So _that_ was teleport...and an unusually powerful one, at that. How strong was Goodwitch's Gardevoir?!

Jaune rose to his feet, stumbling a little before he took a deep breath and balanced himself. "Alright...now what?" he wondered out loud, glancing around the area. Trees everywhere, not an end in sight. He groaned. How was he supposed to find the temple?!

"Alright, alright...calm down, Jaune," he told himself, picking a direction and heading off. "First thing's first, find a partner."

He hoped to Arceus he wouldn't run into that Cardin guy...that would be a disaster.

Maybe Ruby? Or Yang? Or Blake? He blushed. Or maybe Weiss..?

Jaune reached for his pokeball and released Corphish, letting the little crustacean stretch out his tiny legs. Corphish glanced around in confusion, before looking up at his trainer. _"Corp?"_

"Welcome to initiation, Corphish!" Jaune announced, spreading his arms wide. "We're going to need to find a temple and a partner, okay? So let's hurry up and get searching!"

Corphish still didn't understand, but he nodded anyway and started scuttling ahead, Jaune close behind. The two explored the forest in silence, unaware that they were being followed...

...

"Okay, okay..." Ruby muttered to herself. "Gotta find a partner, gotta find a partner..."

She wasn't really on board with the whole 'partners' thing considering her social anxiety, but with the people she already knew she figured she could score a partner she wouldn't mind having. How hard could it be?

She stopped walking and sighed. The first person you make eye contact with, huh? That sounded oddly lazy to her. After all, what if two incompatible people made eye contact with each other?! It would be a disaster! Ruby groaned and leaned against a tree, deciding to take a break from all her walking. This sucked...She doubted she was the only one entirely lost...how were they all supposed to find the temple?! They were all in random locations, it was all based on pure luck! Seriously, she may have been young but even she could notice the serious flaws in this system.

She reached for one of her pokeballs and released the pokemon inside. Her mother's Scizor stared back at her before it slowly turned to observe the forest around them.

"With you by my side, I don't need to be afraid," she muttered, smiling softly.

 _"Scizor."_ Scizor turned back to its new trainer and gestured for her to rise up. When she did, it then pointed off towards the distance.

"You want us to head that way?" Ruby asked, and the metallic bug nodded. Ruby smiled and nodded back. "Alright, I trust you." However, before she could take another step, Scizor's claw blocked her path. She turned to her pokemon in confusion, frowning. "What now?" she hissed.

 _"Scizor..."_ Scizor pointed up, and when Ruby glanced up her eyes bulged out of their sockets. The two of them were surrounded by a whole entire pack of mankey, with some primeape thrown in just to make things worse. The only problem was they weren't ordinary mankey. Black oil oozed from their bodies, their fur matted and a white mask made of bone was practically grafted onto each and every face.

"Grimm..." she squeaked. "And a whole lot of them."

Could they run for it? She doubted it. Mankey was a fast pokemon that was superior in the forest, there was no way they could escape. They had no choice...They had to fight.

"Scizor...are you ready for this?" she breathed out, steeling herself as best as she could.

 _"Scizor!"_

"Alright then!" Ruby cried out, just as the first wave of mankey descended upon them. "Use X-scissor!"

Scizor crossed its arms together and charged, slashing through the first wave with ease. Being an experienced pokemon, it knew when to rely on its own instincts; it immediately whipped around and caught a mankey by the tail, swinging it and throwing it at its grimm companions. They were knocked over like bowling pins, and as Ruby commanded, "Brick Break!" the bug pokemon readied its huge claw and slammed it a charging primeape. Scizor heard Ruby cry out, and when it turned around it saw Ruby was surrounded by mankey.

Acting quickly, Scizor sprinted ahead, slashing open the monsters, their black blood splattering over its red exoskeleton. Ruby stared up at her pokemon in awe, and Scizor helped her to her feet.

"Thank you..." said Ruby, and the two turned around to see the pack slowly approaching them, readying themselves for the kill. "There's too many of them," Ruby realized. "There's just too many..."

 _"Scizor!"_ Scizor wasn't about to give up just yet. It turned to Ruby, eyes hardened and determined. _"Scizor! Scizor!"_

Ruby stared for a few moments, before nodding with a newfound hope. "You're right!" she growled. "Hurry, iron defense then HYPER BEAM!"

Scizor's armor glowed for a moment, before the glow faded away, leaving a newly shining shell in its place. Then, it slammed its two claws together, opening them as a large ball of energy formed inside them. Roaring out in defiance to the grimm, Scizor unleashed its ultimate attack as the grimm charged. The hyper beam incinerated the grimm that stood in its path, and when a few of the mankey tried to attack, their blows bounced off of Scizor without effect. More pissed off than anything else, Scizor slammed its claws into the faces of its opponents. However, in the bloodbath, it failed to notice the primeape about to attack Ruby from behind!

"Ruby!"

A blur slammed into the primeape, knocking it back. The pokemon landed, and Ruby stared at it in confusion. "A liepard?" she murmured, before turning around, making eye contact with its trainer. "Blake!"

Blake moved to Ruby's side as Liepard joined Scizor in battle. "Are you okay?" Blake asked.

Ruby nodded. "I am...thanks to you." She smiled brightly. "I guess this makes us partners, huh?"

Blake smirked and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

...

 **A little short, but I'm satisfied with leaving things off here. Obviously I can't fit intiiation into one chapter, so consider this a little bit of an arc, if you will. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back, everybody! Yeesh, I hate it when I'm forced into slow updates, but the real world isn't too kind to writers... Oh well, at least I'm able to crank something out at last! So here we are, continuing with the initiation arc. Blake and Ruby have become fated partners, but what about the rest of the cast? Well personally I don't think anything is too surprising, I'm sure all of you can guess who is gonna be partnered up with who now that Blake and Ruby are out of the picture. Also, I do know who Jaune's pokemon is gonna be, and he may or may not get it in this chapter. As for what it is, well, let's just say I'm a big fan of unconventional choices, like having Corphish be his partner 'mon. And hey! Jaune doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to use pokemon that fits with a certain 'theme', I imagine him akin to Ash with a sort of 'jack of all trades' vibe. So no, none of his pokemon are gonna be what you'd call 'obvious', but y'know what? That's okay, I like bringing not as popular pokemon into the spotlight. So I hope that whenever I do reveal his team, you guys won't come at me with pitchforks and torches.**

 **Enjoy the chapter, everyone!**

 **...**

To be honest, when Yang was first teleported into the forest by Gardevoir she expected to have a welcoming party of Grimm trying to take her down, but it seemed like that wasn't the case. As she walked through the forest, bored out of her mind, she was aware of Infernape's growing frustration. The flaming ape was walking alongside his trainer, itching for a battle. That was what made the two of them such great partners: they both loved kicking ass and taking names. They lived for battle, and they were eager to test themselves against the creatures of Grimm.

So where the hell were all of them?!

"Arceus, this is so annoying!" Yang growled, slamming her fist into a nearby tree. "Why couldn't we have wound up in a place that actually HAS Grimm to fight?!"

 _"Fernape!"_ her partner agreed.

"I bet everyone else is having the damn time of their lives fighting monsters and meeting partners," the buxom blonde continued to complain, "but here WE are, in the middle of goddamn nowhere!"

Just them, a twig snapped behind them, and they whirled around in excitement. But turns out it was just a stupid nidoran hopping past them. Yang stared at it for a few moments, almost considering catching one, before shaking her head. "C'mon, Infernape, let's go," she muttered. "Let's get this stupid initiation over with..."

 _"Ferr..."_

They continued walking for what may as well have been hours, though in reality, it had only been five minutes. Yang was almost considering calling it quits when suddenly a small pokemon darted past her legs, nearly causing her to fall on her ass. Infernape leaped back, preparing for a potential battle, but Yang motioned for him to stop. She stared at the small pokemon and raised an eyebrow as it turned to look at her.

"A togedemaru?" she muttered. "What's it doing out here?"

"Togedemaru, don't run off like that!" a voice suddenly cried out, and busty girl with short ginger hair burst out of the trees, scooping the little rodent into her arms. She turned to Yang and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that," she said, "Togedemaru just likes to run off, I've given up trying to teach him not to."

Yang smiled back and cocked her hip to the side. "No worries," she assured before sticking her hand out. "I'm Yang."

"Nora!" the girl chirped, eagerly shaking Yang's hand.

"Guess this means we're partners," Yang deduced, and Nora nodded happily.

"Guess so!" She then looked around briefly, before turning back to her new partner. "Say, have you seen a black haired boy with pink eyes anywhere?"

Yang shook her head. "Can't say that I have."

"Oh, poo..." Nora sighed, before immediately perking back up. "Well, let's get going, partner! Gotta find those relics, y'know? No time like the present!"

Nora was certainly a strange girl, though fifteen years living with Ruby had left Yang with the ability to deal with strange people. Nora didn't seem like the worst partner to have...Who knows? Maybe she already had a new best friend. As they walked through the forest, Nora continued to chatter away, Yang offering her own two cents every once in a while. Infernape and Togedemaru followed in silence, the small electric/steel rodent seemed intimidated by the aggressive fire type. Infernape just did his best to ignore Togedemaru, and trudged behind his trainer.

A sudden cry broke their conversation, however, and all four tensed up. Yang's eyes narrowed, and it took her a moment before they widened again. "That was Ruby!"

"Who?" Nora asked.

"My sister, we got to help her!" Yang hissed, bolting off in the direction of the screaming. Nora stared after her for a moment, before scooping up Togedemaru and rushing off after her partner.

The two finally came to a stop, and they saw both Ruby and another girl trying their damn hardest to fight off a band of Grimm-mankey. Scizor was covered in scratches and was quickly growing weary, not that Yang was surprised. Scizor was a much older pokemon, it didn't have as much stamina as it did when it was younger. The girl was using Liepard, who was desperately ducking and weaving past the mankey, trying to avoid their attacks. It launched a shadow ball attack at a group of them, knocking the monsters back. However, for every mankey defeated, two more seemed to take its place.

"Scizor, use brick break!" Ruby commanded, and Scizor launched itself at a primeape, slamming its pincer into the monster's side. The primeape was thrown back, disappearing from view.

"So many..." Nora gasped, and Yang nodded.

"That's why we have to help," she said. "Infernape, kick their asses with shadow claw!"

 _"FERNAPE!"_ the flaming monkey leaped into the fray, its claws glowing a sinister purple as it slashed through the flesh of the Grimm. Nora grinned and tossed Togedemaru into the air.

"Togedemaru, discharge!" she ordered. Togedemaru took a deep breath and unleashed all of its electricity, bolts going in every direction. Each bolt found its mark, electrocuting the whole band of Grimm. Some died, others fled, but soon the battlefield was empty, and Ruby and her partner were finally allowed to rest. Ruby returned Scizor to its pokeball and fell to her knees, breathing heavily.

"I never wanna deal with so many Grimm at once ever again..." she muttered, before smiling up at her older sister. "Thanks, Yang...Yang's partner."

"This is Nora," Yang introduced, "and she's the one you should be thanking. That was one powerful discharge!"

"Togedemaru's the best, that's for sure," Nora chirped as her pincushion of a pokemon jumped up on her shoulder.

"Yang, this is Blake, my partner," Ruby said, gesturing to the girl sitting against the tree, softly petting Liepard's head as she gave the two newcomers a nod.

"Nice to meet ya," Yang said, grinning at Blake. "Thanks for taking care of my little sister for me."

"No problem," Blake grunted as she rose to her feet. "We should probably get going before those mankey decide to come back."

"She's right," Ruby agreed, "we still need to get those relics, after all." She smiled at Yang and Nora sweetly. "Wanna come with us?"

"The more the merrier!" Nora chirped, causing a chuckle to rise out of the other three. The four recalled their pokemon and headed off to where (hopefully) the relics were hidden.

...

Jaune was now very aware of something watching him, but every time he looked back there was nothing, not even two glowing dots to indicate eyes like all the scary moves had. Jaune's nervousness also put Corphish on edge, and the two made their way through the forest with caution. So far there hadn't been a single sign of the Grimm, so he figured he was lucky in that department.

"I wonder what's following us," he murmured, glancing down at his little crustacean.

 _"Corphish..."_ it warbled.

"I wonder who our partner is gonna be," Jaune said, changing the subject. "It's the first person we make eye contact with, right?" He tapped his chin, before shrugging. "As long as it isn't Cardin, I guess I'm fine with just about anyone."

Something jumped over his head, though all he saw was a blur. Jaune gasped and whipped his head to the side just in time to see a small, dark shape disappear into the treetops. For a brief moment, there was a pair of glowing orange eyes, but they were gone as soon as they appear.

"What...was that?" he breathed, turning to Corphish. The little crustacean seemed just as confused, and a shiver ran down his spine as he became aware that whatever it was was still watching them. Corphish looked around anxiously, scuttling closer to Jaune's leg. Jaune took notice as well, and he took a deep breath before calling out, "We're not going to hurt you! Just come out where we can see you!"

Silence.

Suddenly, a shadow slithered past them, before it rose up in front of Jaune, its long claws slashing towards him. Jaune let out a cry, but Corphish leaped in the way, deflecting the blow with his pincers. The two fell back as the shadow retreated, and a pair of glowing orange eyes appeared where the shadow once stood.

"What are you?!" Jaune demanded to know. "Why were you following us? Why are you attacking?"

 _"Shhhaaa..."_ the creature hissed, before disappearing once more. Almost immediately, the shadow returned, and Jaune barely dodged its attack.

"Alright, then..." he muttered, his eyes narrowing. He pointed in the direction the shadow had just been. "Corphish, use bubblebeam!"

 _"CORP...PHISH!"_

Corphish opened its pincers and a stream of jet-like bubbles emerged. They shot through the trees but didn't hit its mark. Jaune was now very aware of the small figure darting around them. It stopped behind him, and Jaune turned around, ordering another bubblebeam. Bubbles shot towards the creature, but it jumped back into the safety of the treetops. Jaune heard what sounded like a cackle, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. Dammit, of course! This thing wasn't taking them seriously, it was just taunting them, keeping itself just out of reach! The real question was...why was it doing this? Hell, what even was it?! Grimm? Jaune had never seen a real Grimm before, so he had no way of knowing...Still, he had heard that the Grimm were mindless creatures, but this thing clearly had a strategy for wearing them down.

"Alright, then..." he hissed. "We'll just take the fight to you! Corphish, get up there and use double hit!"

Corphish scuttled towards a nearby rock and hopped on top of it, before taking a deep breath and leaping into the trees with all his power. He began swinging his pincers wildly towards the creature, but to both Corphish's and Jaune's surprise, the attack just slipped right past it! Corphish let out a cry as the creature slammed into him, sending him crashing into Jaune. The two collapsed onto the ground, and when Jaune glanced up he saw the full figure of the creature.

It was small, really small. It was dark gray and almost looked like it was wearing a type of headgear with horns. It seemed to blend into the shadows, its body moving as if it were smoke. Its orange eyes bore straight into Jaune's, and the young trainer felt his blood run cold. The creature continued to stare down at him, before it gave him a small smirk, then disappeared.

"What was that?" Jaune breathed out, unable to believe what he just saw. "I've never seen anything like it..."

"Jaune?"

Jaune snapped out of his daze and turned around to see Weiss jogging towards him, a look of concern on her face. "Are you okay?" she asked, stopping next to him.

Jaune nodded slowly before he shakingly rose to his feet. "Be careful," he warned. "There's a really weird pokemon around here, it just got done attacking me and Corphish."

Weiss frowned. "Grimm?"

The blonde shook his head. "I don't think so," he admitted. "It was...strange for sure, but too smart for Grimm. At least...I think it was?"

Weiss nodded. "When a pokemon becomes Grimm, they lose most of their intelligence, relying on instinct more than anything else," she explained. "If you say it fought smart, then it wasn't Grimm." She was silent for a few moments before she coughed and said, "I guess we're partners now."

A light blush appeared across Jaune's cheeks, and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Y-Yeah," he agreed, "I guess we are."

Corphish looked at his master, sighing. Sometimes Jaune was just plain dumb...

Weiss nodded and began walking ahead. "Well, I suppose we should hurry up and get to the temple, right?"

"Er, right!" Jaune hurried after the heiress, still unable to believe his luck. 'I've been partnered up with Weiss!' he mentally cheered, giving him a quick pat on the back. 'Not too shabby, Jaune...Not too shabby.'

They walked in silence for a while, neither of them really knowing what to say to the other. It was starting to bug Weiss, but she tried her best to ignore it as she pushed on, leading the way. Jaune obediently followed like a lilipup, and the heiress really wasn't sure what to make of her new partner. 'Should I say something?' she wondered. While Weiss wasn't really the type to go out of her way and make friends if she really was going to be with Jaune for the next four years she might as well get to know him...a little.

She opened her mouth to speak. "Jaune-"

"Did you hear that?" Jaune whispered, cutting her off.

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "No, I-"

There was a soft cry that echoed through the forest, and both of them froze. "What was that?" Weiss wondered.

"I don't know," Jaune replied as they heard the cry again. His eyes narrowed. "But I'm going to find out!"

Before Weiss could say anything, he sprinted off to the right, leaving the heiress by herself. She blinked, before crying out, "Jaune, wait!" Her 'partner' ignored her and continued to rush through the forest. Weiss huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. "So much for partners..." she grumbled. A minute passed, and she figured she might as well go after Jaune before he got lost or killed. She began trotting in the direction Jaune had run off to, when suddenly she heard, "Weiss, hurry!"

He sounded distraught, and Weiss immediately bolted after the young man. "Jaune?!" she cried. "Jaune, what's wrong?!" She received no reply, and she quickened her sprint. The moppy mess of blonde hair finally came into view, and she stopped to observe him. She huffed and placed her hands on her hips when she saw he was perfectly fine. "You dolt..." she hissed, shaking her head. "Worrying me like that! Why I ought to-"

"It isn't me that's in trouble..." Jaune whimpered, turning around to face Weiss. It was then that she noticed the small pokemon in his arms.

"A yungoos..." she recognized, eyes widening. "All the way out here? That doesn't make any sense..."

"Don't worry about that!" Jaune growled, holding it up for Weiss to take a closer look. "Just look!"

Weiss's eyes widened as she noticed the large cut running down the small pokemon's side, blood coating its entire flank. It was taking shallow breaths, eyes glossing over. "Oh my God..." she gasped softly, her hands covering her mouth.

"We have to do something!" Jaune cried, clutching Yungoos to his chest. "It...It'll DIE if we don't do something!" He had tears running down his eyes. "I forgot to bring those potions you gave me! Please, do you have any with you?!"

Weiss nodded and reached into her bag, but then hesitated. "Jaune..." she murmured. "There's only so much potions can do, what this pokemon needs is a pokemon center. There's one in Beacon, but...our initiation."

"Dammit..." Jaune hissed. "There has to be something we can do..."

"It must've been a Grimm..." Weiss deduced. "A scuffle over territory..."

Suddenly there was a small growling, and the two trainers turned around to see what at first appeared to be nuzleaf, except black ooze covered it and a white bone mask hid its eyes. Corphish glared back at the Grimm and moved in front of Jaune and Yungoos, ready to defend the helpless pokemon.

"That must be the Grimm..." Weiss concluded, eyes narrowing. "Don't worry, Jaune, leave this to me."

She took a pokeball and threw it into the air. "Go, Glaceon!"

The ice type-eeveelution landed on the ground, ready to take on the Grimm-Nuzleaf. The nuzleaf looked its opponent up and down before charging.

"Dodge it!" Weiss called, and Glaceon leaped over the Grimm. "Now, ice beam!"

Glaceon let out a battle cry as it shot out a ray of ice. It connected with Nuzleaf's foot, leaving it pinned in place. Glaceon landed back on the ground just as Weiss ordered a quick attack. Glaceon charged at its opponent with blinding speed, slamming into Nuzleaf and sending it crashing into the bushes. After a moment, black smoke began to rise, signaling the Grimm's defeat.

"Simply too easy," Weiss observed coldly. "Not only did it fight with no regard for its own safety, it must've been a low level as well. Hardly a challenge."

"Weiss..." said Jaune, eyes wide. "You're...amazing!"

Weiss glanced away and nodded. "It was nothing, really," she muttered, before looking back at Yungoos. Her eyes narrowed. "Jaune...it's dying..."

"What?!" Jaune glanced down at Yungoos, who seemed to be growing weaker with each breath. "No...No, no, NO! I won't let you die, Yungoos!" He looked around desperately for anything to help, and Weiss tried to keep her composure, but she had never seen a pokemon...die before. She looked away, trying to hide her tears. 'I'm sorry, Jaune...' she thought.

Then a crazy idea popped into Jaune's head. "Weiss!" he hissed. "What happens to a pokemon inside a pokeball? Can it still live even if its close to death?"

Weiss blinked. "In theory, yes..." she hesitantly confirmed. "There aren't any recorded deaths that take place inside a pokeball. Pokemon are put into a sort of a...suspended animation until they are let out again."

"That's all I needed to hear," Jaune said, eyes hardening. He reached for the empty pokeball he was given, and he gently tapped it against Yungoos' head. The pokeball absorbed the small pokemon into it and dinged, signaling a successful catch.

"It's still a coin toss," Weiss warned.

"It gives Yungoos a chance," Jaune argued. "That's better than nothing."

"I-" Weiss paused, and then sighed. "I see...Okay then. let's hurry up and get this initiation done. The sooner we're done, the sooner Yungoos gets the help it needs."

Jaune smiled. "Thank you, Weiss."

Weiss nodded and turned away. "Don't think too much about it, okay?"

Watts's words passed through her head. A trainer must be cool, calculating...Emotions clouded judgment. She nearly lost her composure seeing that Yungoos suffer, but now she could continue what Watts had taught her. Jaune was clearly not that, catching Yungoos was purely out of emotion. Watts would've put that pokemon out of its misery and wouldn't even think of catching it...Yungoos aren't useful, he'd say. But Jaune caught it. He gave that pokemon a chance to live.

Her head hurt...she needed to keep moving. "Come on," she said, "let's go."

"R-Right..." Jaune said. He followed Weiss eagerly, clipping the newest member of his team to his belt.

'You're strange, Jaune Arc...' Weiss thought, looking back at her partner. 'Yes...very strange indeed.'

Neither of them noticed the shadowy figure watching them from the treetops. It stared after them as they left, nodding its approval.

 _"Marrr..."_ it murmured, before turning away and disappearing.

It now understood why Ozpin had chosen this boy in particular...It was looking forward to seeing where Jaune Arc's journey would take him.

...

 **So who is this mysterious pokemon? Well, I'm sure the context clues give you the rather obvious answer, but who knows? So Jaune catches a yungoos, though more out of the kindness than anything else. Will it make it through initiation? What does the Emerald Forest have in store for our heroes? It seems that the road might be rough for Jaune Arc...AS THE JOURNEY CONTINUES!**

 **Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!**


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